


Blood and Fur and Salt-Water

by Takara_Phoenix



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: (for the supernatural creatures), Alpha Keith, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Anal, Bottom Lance, Demon Shay, Explicit Sexual Content, Female Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, Fluff, Human Pidge, Hunk & Lance are Bros, Hurt/Comfort, Knotting, Lotor and his girls are part of the good guys here, M/M, Merman Lance, Multi, Omega Lance, Oral, Pack Dynamics, Pack Feels, Polyamory, Slash, Sorceress Allura, Switch Keith, Threesome - M/M/M, Top Shiro, Vampire Shiro, Werewolf Hunk, Werewolf Keith, alpha shiro, and in later chapters also:, because Pidge is the girl who runs with wolves, slow-burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-26
Updated: 2018-11-10
Packaged: 2019-05-14 00:21:27
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 21,637
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14759087
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Takara_Phoenix/pseuds/Takara_Phoenix
Summary: Lance is a merboy, who wants to explore the human world.Shiro is a vampire, who was held captive by the Galra pack.Keith is a werewolf and part of the Galra pack - until he frees the vampire-prisoner and runs away with him.Pidge is human and living with her best friend Hunk, who stumbled into the supernatural world by being turned into a werewolf. Now the two of them are looking for a roommate - and end up with Lance, who they assume to be a regular human and who assumes that both Pidge and Hunk are human.Things get messy when Keith and Shiro move to their island too... being followed by members of the Galra pack sent to capture them.





	1. Prologue: Departures

Voltron || Shklance || Voltron || Blood and Fur and Salt-Water || Voltron || Shklance || Voltron

Title: Blood and Fur and Salt-Water – The Merboy Walking the Shore

Fandom: Voltron: Legendary Defender

Disclaimer: All rights to the remake reserved to DreamWorks, Lauren Montgomery and Joaquim Dos Santos, and to the original to Toei Animation. This fanfiction on the other hand is entirely mine. No money is made with this, though reviews are more than welcomed.

Warnings : polyamory (m/m/m), ABO-verse, vampires, werewolves, witches, merpeople, demons, hurt/comfort, kidnapping, mating, explicit intercourse, anal, oral, knotting, m/f

 

Main Pairing: Shiro/Keith/Lance

Side Pairings: Hunk/Shay, Lotor/Allura, Rolo/Nyma, Sam/Colleen, Zarkon/Haggar

Voltron Characters:

 _Merpeople_ : Lance Charles McClain, Nyma, Rolo, Plaxum, Queen Luxia

 _Werewolves_ : Keith Kogane, Hunk Garett, Krolia, Kolivan, Acxa, Zethrid, Sendak, Zarkon

 _Vampire_ : Takashi 'Shiro' Shirogane

 _Humans_ : Katie 'Pidge' Holt, Matthew Holt, Samuel Holt, Colleen Holt

 _Witches_ : Allura, Coran, Lotor, Haggar

 _Demons_ : Shay, Rax, Narti, Ezor

Summary: Lance is a merboy, who wants to explore the human world. Shiro is a vampire, who was held captive by the Galra pack. Keith is a werewolf and part of the Galra pack - until he frees the vampire-prisoner and runs away with him. Pidge is human and living with her best friend Hunk, who stumbled into the supernatural world by being turned into a werewolf. Now the two of them are looking for a roommate - and end up with Lance, who they assume to be a regular human and who assumes that both Pidge and Hunk are human.

Things get messy when Keith and Shiro move to their island too... being followed by members of the Galra pack sent to capture them.

**Blood and Fur and Salt-Water**

_The Merboy Walking the Shore_

_Prologue: Departures_

Keith was a lone wolf.

He had been a lone wolf for as long as he could remember. His mother had died when he was just a baby and his father... he'd rather not think about him, if he was being honest. When he was a teenager, his heritage manifested. Turned out one of his parents must have been a werewolf.

Turned out _his mother_ had been a werewolf. Krolia of the Galra-pack. Keith learned that when he ran into his mother's old pack. For a brief time, Keith thought that he had found a home and a family. Someone who was just like him, who accepted him. A place to fit in.

He was wrong.

He was really, very wrong. The pack wasn't good. They were cruel and vicious people. The Alpha, the leader of the pack, was a nasty man named Zarkon. Keith felt uncomfortable for a while, but he definitely knew that he had to get away when he found out about Zarkon's favorite sport.

Werewolves and vampires had a long history of animosity between each other. But Zarkon took it to a new level. He kept a vampire prisoner, forced the vampire to fight in the arena like a gladiator. Zarkon's champion. Imprisoned against his own will.

Takashi Shirogane. A tall, broad and well-trained alpha vampire, who was being kept as a pet and a slave. For a while, Keith sneaked into the dungeons, to observe. He had never seen a vampire before, after all. He started to talk to Shiro. They became... friends.

Everything about all of this was still new to Keith. Changing into a wolf, having a pack, being an alpha – supernatural creatures apparently had a classification of being either alpha or omega, a secondary gender of sorts. It was all so overwhelming and he felt so... alone with it.

Shiro made him feel less alone, for the first time in his life. Shiro made him feel understood. And, very slowly, Keith was falling for Shiro. He couldn't allow for Shiro to be kept a prisoner.

The werewolves hated vampires. And a werewolf being in love with a vampire...? He would end up in the dungeon right next to Shiro. There was only one course of action he could take. He had to free Shiro and they both had to get away from this pack.

They knew they'd be on the run, for a very long time. They knew it was risky. But what was the alternative? Leaving Shiro in captivity, living alone in a pack that made him feel not welcomed?

"We have to move. _Now_ ", whispered Keith as he supported Shiro.

Shiro was weak, but he nodded as they sneaked out of the mansion in the deep of night.

/break\

Lance was a dreamer. He had always been a dreamer. Dreaming of the endless horizon and the vast lands. The dry sands and rich woods and curious cities. Lance's heart longed for the human world.

"I wish you wouldn't have your head in the clouds so much, Lance."

"I'm sorry, my queen", sighed Lance and ducked his head.

Queen Luxia looked at him gently. She was a good and fair leader, the Alpha of their cove of merpeople. Lance was loyal to her, he was grateful that he had gotten a job at the palace. His mom had both hands full with all of Lance's siblings, so as soon as he was old enough to move out and get a job, he did so. He found his way to the palace and got a job in the kitchen.

"There is no need for you to be sorry, Lance", argued the queen, resting a gentle hand on his shoulder. "I can't tie you to this place, Lance. You're not happy, stuck in the palace like this."

"No, no! You've been so generous-", interrupted Lance wide-eyed.

"Lance", sighed Luxia, eyes warm as she looked at him. "If there is a call in your heart, then you should follow it. It's the way of our people. We explore the sea and the depth, the land and the islands. If there a place that calls to you, then you can not deny it."

Lance bit his lips and looked down at his hands. "There... is an island. It's very pretty. I visit the shores with Plaxum and Nyma all the time. It's... a beautiful place with sun and warmth and green nature and humans and... and... I want to... see more than just the shores."

Smiling at Lance, the queen grasped Lance's face and pressed a soft kiss to his forehead. "You have my blessing to go and to... explore. But be careful, humans can't know about our existence. Stay in touch, please. It's dangerous in the human world."

"I... I won't. Thank you, Queen Luxia", nodded Lance with large, grateful eyes.

The queen smiled as she watched the young merboy swim away. Lance was a force to be reckoned with. He brought laughter and warmth to every place he went and he had a way to make people love him. But lately, the warmth and happiness he radiated had been dimming, overturned by the longing for the human world. Seeing him grow more sad and look more caged, Luxia couldn't stand to watch it. Lance had only recently presented as an omega and he was still... itching. It was normal. When the second nature truly bloomed, things changed for every guppy. They needed to grow comfortable in their own scales again and if Lance needed to travel and explore for that, then Luxia couldn't stand to hold him back. He was a good boy with a good head on his shoulders.

She just hoped that he would really be fine. He wasn't exactly _naive_ , but he did believe in the good in people. And humans, they were different from merpeople. Not to mention all of those other creatures, supernatural beings that Lance had only ever heard about in stories and the classes about the magical world. The surface world had a lot to offer to Lance. Queen Luxia just wondered whether or not _it_ was ready and could handle Lance...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is going to be a slow-burn. It's going to be a while before things between them actually develop; or before they even meet. For now, next chapter is going to establish Hunk and Pidge and have Lance meet them.


	2. The Pack of Mamora

_Chapter 1: The Pack of Mamora_

Katie Holt used to live a completely normal life.

The emphasis being on _used_ to be. Nowadays better known as Pidge, she had become an expert on the supernatural. Not entirely willingly so, mind you. But that was what her life had become.

She _used_ to be a normal girl, living with her mom, dad, big brother and puppy. And then her life literally took a page out of _Teen Wolf_ , because her best friend had to go and get himself turned into a freaking werewolf! And that was how Pidge had found out that the supernatural was real, because Hunk now turned into a giant, fluffy wolf. Not feral and dangerous, but rather adorable and cuddly.

Pidge's dad, Sam Holt, was a scientist and absolutely fascinated by the reveal. Of course, they all agreed that they had to keep Hunk's secret a secret or else he'd end up on the examination table of one of Sam's not so friendly colleagues. This was their secret and it needed to be protected.

Things got only marginally more complicated when Hunk and Pidge graduated from high school and moved out to college. Of course did they want to share a flat, but even two couldn't pay enough to afford their new flat, so they had to go looking for an additional roommate.

"He—ey. I'm Hunk. That's Pidge", introduced Hunk with a bright smile, hand held out.

"Pidge? That sounds... untypical", hummed the brunette in front of them curiously.

"Katie. But everybody calls me Pidge", shrugged Pidge and wiggled her nose.

"Ah", nodded the other. "I'm... Lance. Uh, Lance McClain. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Lance and Hunk shook hands and Pidge watched them critically. It was only going to make things _complicated_ to invite a human into their world. This was literally risking everything and Pidge could already see it all falling apart the first time Lance would walk in on Hunk half-shifted or something. Full moon. Or how about when Hunk's _demon girlfriend_ would be over – which, yeah, was _totally a thing too_. Shay and her family had moved here from New Orleans during senior year and it took Pidge a total of two months to figure out that they were actually _demons_.

When they had first met, Shay Balmera had looked completely normal. Human. Light-brown skin, golden-brown eyes, tight-curled, red-dyed hair and a friendly smile. Her demon face was something else all together – green skin, four horns and golden-glowing eyes. Turned out Balmera was the name of their demonic race. Everyone had a long moment of freaking out – Pidge and Hunk about the fact that demons were real and Shay and her older brother Rax freaking out about revealing themselves to humans. Things smoothed over when Pidge and Hunk told them about the fact that Hunk was a werewolf and Pidge and her family were very much in the know already.

There was _no chance_ that it would go this smoothly again, but it was a risk they had to take.

/break\

Lance was smiling broadly as he dumped his bag on his new bed and looked around. The room was tiny, compared to the room he had at the palace, and it was _weird_ not reaching the ceiling because he was bound to the Earth and there was no water through which he could float. But it was nice.

He had gone straight to a store to buy what Nyma had called the essentials. Nyma and Rolo had an apartment in town, they dealt human goods in the underwater city. Which was why Nyma knew exactly what Lance would need to pass human. He knew the basics, all merpeople learned, but still.

Nyma and Rolo had pushed and tried to convince him to live with them, but... What would be the point in _that_? Moving out from the palace to move in with his fellow mer friends? That was just ridiculous. He wanted to experience _humans_. For that, he'd move in with real, actual _humans_.

"Lance?", asked Hunk, knocking on Lance's door. "Food?"

"Food?", echoed Lance curiously and sat up.

"Yeah. I cooked", laughed Hunk. "We can work out like a schedule together and all, but... for now, I cooked dinner, so if you wanna join Pidge and me, or are you still jet-legged?"

Lance frowned, drawing a blank at that odd term. "Nah. I'm hungry."

Excitedly, he got off his new bed and stumbled – legs, he was still not used to them. Catching himself, he got outside to join his two very human, totally normal roommates. This was going to be _so great_. He had signed up for classes at the human college – marine biology, this could be fun – and he would get to enjoy all the aspects of being a completely normal human.

/break\

All Shiro craved was... normality. Well, blood too, it had been a little while since he had last fed, but mainly normality. He had spent _years_ in the dungeon of the Galra pack, fighting for the werewolves' pleasure. He wasn't quite sure... what normality even _felt_ like...

The black wolf in his arms growled and snuggled up to him some more. Shiro smiled faintly. Well, perhaps he had a bit of a sense of what normality could mean, as long as he was with Keith.

"You should sleep too", muttered Keith as he shifted back to human.

"Can't", sighed Shiro and shook his head.

"It's day. Should be normal for you to sleep", huffed Keith and stretched.

"Can't leave you without protection", countered Shiro, running his fingers through Keith's hair.

"Shiro... Shiro, we're far enough from the castle. We... We'll be fine, for now", whispered Keith gently, cupping Shiro's face and kissing him gently. "We will be fine."

"We're sleeping under bridges, running in the night... looking over our shoulders", sighed Shiro. "We're not fine. We're on the run. I don't even know what _fine_ means anymore... It's been so many years, Keith... I don't... What are we going to do...?"

"We'll figure it out", promised Keith with a frown, kissing Shiro once more. "We will."

Keith was _not_ the kind of person to take charge. Because usually he was _alone_. Responsible only for his own actions. He had never been much of a team-player, which was why he didn't fit in with the pack to begin with. But now he had Shiro to care for too. And Shiro was right. They had to figure out what to do, _how_ to do it. Whatever that meant.

/break\

Lance seemed like a great guy, actually. He talked _a lot_ , about stuff that Pidge didn't always understand, and he had little sense for social cues like Pidge and Hunk talking about science projects from college classes. But Lance was as willing to get into trouble and pranks, they played video games and binge-watched TV shows – apparently, Lance was from a very small village and essentially didn't know _anything_. Pidge had a lot of fun introducing Lance to _Teen Wolf_ (the metaphor to her life was just too great not to and Lance reminded her a lot of Stiles).

Hunk seemed even more attached to Lance though. The werewolf had already adopted Lance into his pack and felt particularly protective of their new human. Which wasn't really a surprise; Hunk felt particularly protective of Pidge and her family too because they were just human.

"You can't just keep adopting humans into our pack", growled the Alpha, pacing around.

Pidge heaved a sigh and hopped up onto the kitchen counter, grabbing her blessed coffee. Lance had left for work – he had started working at a surf-shop owned by a local couple. Which meant that the pack was having a meeting at the apartment. Pidge liked their new apartment, but it was _definitely_ too small for the entire park, regardless of how small it was according to the Alpha.

The pack of Mamora was a mixed bunch and not strictly werewolves. Their two leaders were Kolivan and Krolia, who had run away from a different pack many, _many_ years ago. They had found their way here, to their little town of Mamora, on one of the Samoan islands.

The pack had only been those two for a long time, until they had _accidentally_ turned Hunk, when he had gotten injured during a hiking trip. If not for the wolf-bite, he would have bled out.

Shortly after had the pack grown – two years ago, when Lotor and his bunch of misfits had moved to Mamora. They had joined as seniors when Hunk and Pidge had only been sophomores and Hunk had only been turned a few months before. Turned out, apparently, Lotor was a half-blood – his father a werewolf from Kolivan and Krolia's old pack and his mother a witch. In him, it was the witch-blood that had manifested – and driven him out of the pack. Still, half of him was a werewolf and he craved having a pack around him.

So Lotor had gathered himself his own pack of half-breeds.

Acxa had blue-dyed hair and quite the attitude. She was a werewolf, though had also been born to parents of two different species, leading to her not fully being welcomed by either.

Ezor was a lot of fun, the redheaded half-demon was chatty, excitable and friendly. Pidge enjoyed her enthusiasm and the two of them were actually close friends, even though it had majorly freaked Pidge out the first time Ezor had dropped her glamour and had shown off her red skin.

Zethrid was also a werewolf, a big, bulky gal who liked to roughhouse – she and Hunk trained a lot with each other, because being able to actually control their physical strength was important for a werewolf, so Hunk had to _learn_ to control it and channel it properly.

Lastly there was Narti, who could be rather creepy when she wanted to be. She was blind and mute and very mysterious. And she was a half-demon, with scales and a tail and a general snake-y vibe. She also owned a mysterious magical cat that served as a kind of... guide dog, just as a cat.

The latest additions to their pack were Shay and her older brother Rax, the two Balmera demons gladly joining after Shay and Hunk started dating and all their secrets unfolded between them.

And that was it. That was their little pack of misfits, their unorthodox supernatural family.

"I can't help it, Alpha", sighed Hunk with large puppy-dog eyes, looking apologetic. "He's living in our apartment, of course do I feel responsible for him!"

Krolia sighed and rested a hand on Kolivan's shoulder. Kolivan was their leader, Krolia his second-in-command. They led the pack well, far as Pidge could tell, considering she had little experience with actual werewolf-packs. But they were all happy, living well together. So Pidge understood where Kolivan was coming from. A human who wasn't in the know was a potential risk to the pack and pulling a stranger into their world would potentially endanger them all.

"Let's get to know the boy. See if he can be trusted", suggested Krolia.

"I like him!", chimed Ezor with a bright smile.

"...You like everyone", grunted Acxa with a deadpan.

"But Lance is _really_ alright", argued Hunk and pouted. "He's good people."

"He only just moved here though", disagreed Acxa pointedly. "We know nothing about him."

"That's why I said to see if we can trust him", sighed Krolia, locking eyes with the younger woman. "Let Pidge and Hunk befriend him, do your best to get some insight into him too. If you don't trust him, you in particular should work to find out whether or not he's trustworthy."

Acxa sighed and crossed her arms. "Fair enough."

"You will _not_ act until the pack has agreed on whether or not he is trustworthy", warned Kolivan with a serious frown. "You won't risk our secret if we can't fully trust him."

"Yes, Alpha", chorused Pidge and Hunk.

Pidge just hoped that Lance _would_ turn out to not just be trustworthy, but also able to handle the supernatural. Pidge still remembered vividly how long it took her mother to digest it all. She had been rather traumatized by the truth. It wasn't an easy burden to carry for a normal human.

/break\

"I mi—iss you, La—ance!", whined Lance's best friend.

Lance laughed as he hugged Plaxum tightly. The two of them were at a slightly hidden cove, off the public shore. It was how most merpeople entered the island, because it was hidden enough to allow them to change to human and back without being seen.

"I miss you too, Plax", grinned Lance, chin resting on her shoulder.

"Will you come home to the palace with me again? Please?", pleaded Plaxum. "Humans are dangerous, you know that. It is fun, to walk the shore – and I'd happily walk with you like once a month or so. But... But to _live_ among them? It's dangerous, Lancelot."

"I know", sighed Lance before he smiled a little. "But it's also _fun_. It's exciting, Plax."

Plaxum sighed and sat down on one of the rocks. "It's been three weeks. Are you still not tired of the human world? Do you not miss the ocean...?"

"Of course do I miss the ocean. It's my home. But this... this is an adventure", replied Lance with a grin. "I want to... learn more. See more. Meet more humans. I met some nice humans already. Pidge and Hunk. I live with them. They're a lot of fun, though Pidge can be quite the little shit."

"Why are you living with humans?", groaned Plaxum and shook her head. "Why aren't you living with Rolo and Nyma? They spent half their time on this island, they could-"

"Pla—ax", groaned Lance with a pout. "That's no _fun_. If I spend time with the same people up here as I do down below, then what is even the _point_? I promise I'll be careful."

"And don't fall in love with a human!", warned Plaxum seriously, poking Lance's chest. " _That_ is even more dangerous! Mermaids who give their hearts to humans end up in those horrible glass contraptions. Not to mention, you can do _so much_ better than a human! You're one of the most sought-after omegas around the palace! You could find a nice alpha, settle down with, where it's safe. Those human romances _never_ end well for our kind."

"Pla—ax", groaned Lance once more, cheeks heating up. "I didn't come to the shore to fall in love. I'm here to find adventure and to learn about humans. I _promise_ I won't fall in love with a human."

Plaxum hummed and poked Lance's cheek. "Strange. Your skin has _such_ an odd color and now it even _changed_ color. Does it not bother you to have such... unnatural skin?"

Lance scratched his cheek and looked into his reflection in the water. "It... _is_ weird and I startle every time I look in a mirror. Kind of do miss the blue. But my eyes pop out more with this skin-color, don't you think? And _hair_. Hair is so weird. I _love_ it. Here, feel!"

Plaxum yelped and then giggled as she patted Lance's fluffy hair. "It indeed _is_ weird. But nice!"

Lance grinned broadly. "Right? And the _legs_. They are so much fun. Running and kicking stuff and – oh, you will not believe it! I saw our neighbor do this _beautiful_ thing that she called 'dancing'. It is... it is amazing, Plax! She promised to teach me!"

"...Okay", nodded Plaxum and blinked confused. "Well, as long as you stay careful and have fun."

Lance smiled broadly. "I am. Promise. No worries. This is a really peaceful place. I'll be fine."

/break\

A loud growled howl tore through the entire castle and even the strongest of wolves instinctively flinched at the sound that indicated just _how_ angry their Alpha was. Something shattered against a wall and everyone close to the throne-room scattered quickly.

"How have you not _found_ them yet?!", barked the Alpha loudly.

"H—He... They're... It's hard to track them, Alpha", stuttered the poor guy in front of him.

"Zarkon", interrupted the Alpha's mate. "This isn't helping. Send your best man to take care of it."

Zarkon gritted his teeth, eyes flashing yellow-golden. He was the most feared Alpha all around. His pack was mighty, strong, _overwhelming_. They had swallowed all small packs close-by. It was growing, steadily. One day, Zarkon aspired to be the Alpha of all of America.

"How _far_ can they have gone?", growled Zarkon. "This is an _embarrassment_. The cub stole my most prized trophy. He has to _pay_. I want his fur in front of our bed, Honerva."

Honerva hummed softly. Mate of the strongest Alpha of all of the US, Lady Honerva Haggar was one of the strongest witches the states had to offer. Granted, things had been different, far different, when they had first gotten together, a long, _long_ time ago. But she had adjusted.

"Sendak!", called Zarkon out, sneer on his face.

"Yes, Alpha?", asked Zarkon's second-in-command, bowing deep.

"I want you to find him. Track down Keith Kogane and bring me his head. Bring me back my priced trophy. And you better not fail", ordered Zarkon.

"I will do whatever it takes, Alpha", promised Sendak and bowed deep. "Whatever it takes."

/break\

Keith sighed and then inhaled deeply, eyes closed. The ocean smelt... like freedom. He loved the scent of it. Salty and fresh and free. The sun was warming his skin as he stood on deck. He wished Shiro could be up here with him, but vampires and sun didn't mix well. Which was why a ship was the safest way to travel. A small, little lie about him being sea-sick and Shiro got away with staying below deck during their journey. Keith had stolen them both tickets for the ship, without even knowing _where_ the cruise was heading – as long as it was _away_ from New York, from Zarkon.

Shaking his head, Keith pushed off the rail and headed back below deck and toward their cabin.

The ship was good. It was the first time in weeks that both Shiro and Keith got to relax. Well, for Shiro the first time in _years_. But none of Zarkon's men were on board. They were safe here, as long as they were on the water. Food, a warm bed, a hot shower – it was perfect.

"Hey. I ordered room-service", greeted Shiro with a small smile.

It was a one month cruise trip, Miami all the way to Samoa, with stops along the islands and the coast of South America. Keith had dared to go on land twice, but it was just too unsafe for them. If people saw them, people could report back to Zarkon – and Keith knew how paranoid that sounded, but Zarkon was influential and his pack was wide-spread. It would be safer to stay on board of the ship until they would reach the Samoan Islands.

"I still don't understand why that is part of the US", muttered Keith with a doubtful frown as he crawled into his mate's lap and curled together against Shiro. "It's... _so_ far away."

"Well, the US tend to forget it's part of them too", drawled Shiro unimpressed, nosing Keith's neck.

Sighing, Keith tilted his neck more to allow Shiro access. He could feel the sting of Shiro's fangs piercing his skin and it made him shudder. Clawing his fingers into Shiro's thighs, he could feel his own claws extending on instinct. It was highly arousing, to be bitten by a vampire – that was how they were designed. Natural predators. All vampires were, by nature, alphas. It was what made their relationship slightly complicated at times, because Keith was also an alpha – and the alpha inside of Keith wanted to fight, to snarl at the threat. An omega would feel more inclined to relax into this. It was a more _natural_ dynamic, an alpha and an omega. Well. Keith had never liked doing things the way he ought to. What would he even do with an omega...? They needed protection and coddling and affection, things Keith didn't quite know how to provide. No, no. He was perfectly fine the way he was, with his gorgeous vampire mate, only him and Shiro, there was nothing else he needed.

"And... you think we can just... start anew there?", asked Keith doubtfully.

Shiro gently kissed the bite-mark he had just left. "It's far away. Far enough, hopefully. Who knows, maybe it's our... destiny? Maybe a peaceful future awaits us there."

"Sure. Destiny", snorted Keith with a sneer. "Peaceful would be enough, really."

Keith didn't believe in some grand scheme. Fate, destiny, all nonsense. All that mattered were them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooo here's the pack and the overall situation of everyone! Next chapter, we're going to focus more on Lance and how he likes everything on the island. Also, we'll meet Allura. ;)
> 
> And another note; I've decided to stick with good!Lotor. I loved him last season and I loved him in the beginning of this season. You know, before the Super Convenient Altean appeared. He went from sweet to psycho in .5 seconds, so I'm blaming the insanity on the quintessence. Since THAT is something that doesn't exist in this world, I'm sticking with Lotor's characterization of the last season. Not changing ships, not dumping him. Just, fyi.


	3. The Longing for a New Home

_Chapter 2: The Longing for a New Home_

Lady Allura of Altea was the Grand Sorceress of Mamora.

She was of extraordinary beauty, with her long, snow-white hair falling in waves around her, making her look as magical as she indeed was. Nowadays, people assumed hair-dye, which was just as fine with her. Modern humans made it _so easy_ to pass. Even her ears she no longer had to be glamoured – there were actually humans who cut and adjusted their ears to look the way Allura's did naturally. Humans were strange creatures, but particularly in recent years, they had grown to embrace the supernatural and the fantastic worlds as escapes.

Oh, what would they think if they knew? If they knew it was all real. Witches – excuse her, but _sorceresses_ – and merpeople and werewolves and vampires and demons. It was all so very real and right beneath their noses. Granted, not too many of them lived on the continents. Too many humans. They tended to live on the islands, where they built their own little kingdoms.

A long, _long_ time ago, before the island was called Mamora, it used to be called Altea. It used to be the home to the Altean sorcerers and sorceresses. And Allura's father, he used to be the king. Such a long, long time ago. Now, Allura and her trusted adviser Coran were the only ones left.

All that still remained of the old days was their city. Altea. The last reminder of what had been. Now, the island had more cities than just this one, it changed its name, its culture. Everything changed. Humans, there were now so many humans living here – and other creatures too.

Back as a little girl, admiring her father and his work, she would have never thought she'd end up in a pack, of sorts, with werewolves, demons and even humans. Who would have thought this was where her path would lead her, really. The last Alteans, in a new time and age.

"My love, you look distracted by the past again."

She smiled faintly as her fiance wrapped his arms around her waist and rested his chin on her shoulder. Turning a little, she kissed him. He looked surprised for a moment, before returning her smile and deepening their kiss. Both turned toward the sunrise once more.

"It just never ceases to amaze me how much the city has changed in the past ten thousand years", admitted Allura softly. "I remember when it were just a few huts at the shore. Barely a settlement."

Lotor hummed at that, pressing a kiss to her shoulder. He could hardly say anything to that. His mother had come from Altea, Lotor knew that. Though she had never spoken of her home.

"I came out here to remind you that you're going to run late for your dance class", stated Lotor.

"Oh no. I promised to take Lance with me", whispered Allura beneath her breath. "I have to hurry."

"Lance...?", echoed Lotor with a blank face, blinking slowly. "Ah. Right. The new human."

"Yes, the new human", chuckled Allura, resting a hand against Lotor's chest and leaning up to kiss him. "Have a good day, love. I'll see you tonight?"

"Of course you will", assured Lotor with a smile.

Allura rushed back inside and grabbed her handbag before leaving the apartment. She had promised Lance to take him to a dance-class, because he had been _so_ in awe when he had seen her dance the other day. It had been cute, he had watched her with wide eyes and his mouth open. Not in a leering, uncomfortable way as some other tenants of their building sometimes did when she would dance while doing the laundry in the basement. No, he had been excited and stared at her in admiration. Like he had never seen someone dance before. It was too endearing not to promise to take him to a dance-class, really. And since Lance was still new to Altea, it would do him some good, a nice opportunity to get to know more people. So far, he only knew Hunk and Pidge – or at least that was what it looked like to Allura; she had never seen him out with anyone else and Hunk and Pidge said that he didn't really go out and befriend anyone either, though he seemed friendly enough with basically everyone. He had a certain charm to himself, made people instantly like him.

Though he was quite the flirt, which had initially made Allura turn away from him. But then he had been so genuine when seeing Allura dance and that was the first time the two of them had actually talked. Lance was a sweetheart, he was just very loud and acted overly confident to cover his nervousness and fear of rejection. It was easy enough to read once Allura listened closely.

"Good morning, Allura", greeted Hunk with a yawn as he opened the door. "It's early..."

"I'm here to pick up Lance. Please tell me he's awake already?", asked Allura.

"Co—oming!", called Lance out and came stumbling toward her.

"I do wonder if dancing is the right thing for you. Half the time, you don't seem too sure what you're doing with your legs when you attempt to _walk_ ", commented Pidge from the kitchen.

Lance pouted as he gathered himself and walked up to Allura. "Let's leave. People around here are _unnecessarily negative_. Have a good day, you non-believer."

"I believe in you, bro!", called Hunk out as they left.

"Because you're awesome", called Lance back with a broad grin.

Lance and Allura walked in companionable silence for a while, Lance looking around the streets. He had only been living here for three weeks now, so there were still enough parts of town that Lance hadn't seen – including this corner of Altea. Allura smiled to herself as she watched the awe on Lance's face at the gorgeous old buildings. Many houses around here had been built centuries ago and they were indeed real masterpieces. It was strange, how much the city had changed.

"So, you have no experience dancing, yes?", asked Allura after a moment.

"Nope. But it looks really pretty", grinned Lance. "How long have you been dancing?"

"A... long time", sighed Allura with a far-off look on her face. "Since I was a little girl."

"So why do you still take classes?", asked Lance confused, frowning.

"Oh, I'm not _taking_ them. I'm _giving_ them", grinned Allura with a wink. "You can partake today for free, to see if it really interests you, but after that, you'll have to sign up and pay."

"That sounds fair", nodded Lance.

"What about you?", asked Allura. "I mean, you have a job, right?"

"Ye—eah. Rolo and Nyma let me work at their surf-shop", replied Lance with a smile. "They're old friends of mine. That's why I came to the island. Mom was more comfortable letting me leave when I would already know someone at the new place."

"That makes sense", agreed Allura. "But how come you're not living with them then?"

"Oh, who wants to live with a couple? Third-wheeling", huffed Lance.

"Good point", laughed Allura. "Okay. We're here. Let's get inside and I'll show you around."

"Thanks for having me", chimed Lance with a broad, excited smile.

/break\

Shiro frowned as he scrolled through the internet, browsing pictures of Mamora. The island where the cruise was ending before returning to Miami. It looked beautiful. There was still a lot of ancient architecture surviving on this island – temples and buildings from long ago. But so many modern buildings too. It was what fascinated Shiro, the way modern cities just grew around the old. Evolving, but never quite forgetting the past. Just like humans.

"Shiro...?", mumbled Keith sleepily, slowly regaining consciousness.

He blinked blearily before snuggling back into Shiro's chest. Smiling, Shiro put the phone down so he could instead play with Keith's hair. It was as black and as _fluffy_ as the werewolf's fur was. It always lifted Shiro's mood to play with the fluffy hair, because it reminded him that his mate was _here_ and _alive_ and _his_. Sometimes, he forgot it. Sometimes, he expected to be all alone in the dungeon again, just waiting for the next fight. He took a shaky breath as he tried to stop that train of thought. No. No, he was no longer the champion, he was Shiro, he was Keith's mate.

"Good morning, babe", whispered Shiro gently. "Feel well-rested?"

"Mh... This whole cruise is... really relaxing", yawned Keith. "I forgot how much I missed a real _bed_. And the hot showers. And the barbecues here, damn... so much meat..."

Shiro laughed and kissed the top of Keith's head. For weeks, the two of them had been on the run now. Only them, afraid every day to be caught. Always keeping one eye open, sleeping in caves and under bridges and occasionally even in the sewers, because day-time was deadly for Shiro. This cruise? It really was a blessing. They were safe, for now. They had food, shelter, warmth.

It couldn't last though. Shiro was very aware of that. He knew the ship would reach its final destination in a week and then Keith and Shiro would have to get off. They'd sneak away and then... Then things would get scary again, dangerous again. Because they'd have to start over. They'd get to start a new life and with _any_ luck, they would be able to live in _peace_ now.

"It looks pretty", offered Shiro casually, pointing at his phone.

Keith grabbed it and scrolled the pictures. "It really is pretty... Sandy beaches, green tropic forests. The city looks nice too. Think we can... live there?"

"We'll try", offered Shiro with a small smile. "We'll try..."

/break\

The beach was _awful_. Lance hated going to the beach with his new friends. It was just too beautiful, the blue-green water beckoning him over, calling out to him as it lapped at the white sand. All Lance wanted to do was strip down and jump right into the water, let it embrace him and carry him back home to the palace. Lance couldn't. He couldn't turn into a merman, because it would reveal his secret, and he couldn't return home, because going home now would only make him truly homesick and he wouldn't be able to go back to the island. But he wanted to be here. He loved it.

"La—ance. Come on. Go swimming with us!", ordered Pidge.

"No, thank you", smiled Lance. "I'm good here. The lunch Hunk packed is amazing."

He watched Pidge splash around in the water with her older brother Matt. Hunk and his girlfriend Shay were sitting on the blanket with Lance. Honestly, Lance was grateful that his new friends had accepted him like this. Hunk and Pidge were _amazing_ and proof that humans could be good. He wished he could introduce Plaxum to calm her nerves – honestly, Lance's mom and grandma and siblings had taken it better than his best friend had when he told them that he wanted to live among humans for a while. His mother had fully supported his decision, actually. She used to live on Cuba for a while, at a beautiful beach where she fell in love with a human man too.

Perhaps that was where his longing came from, because his father was human and Lance had never gotten to see _his_ world. It had been so, so long ago. The curse of the immortal. Humans changed and grew so fast, so much faster than merpeople.

"So. Where you from, Lance?", grunted Rax, Shay's older brother.

The guy was slightly intimidating and he usually glared at Hunk, especially when Hunk was being affectionate with Shay. But Lance knew he only did it because he was protective of his sister.

"Cuba", replied Lance shortly. "But... I don't like to talk about it. Makes me feel homesick."

Making up lies about a place he had never been to was hard. For a while, Lance had considered going there, visiting the place his father was from, but it would only hurt. Too many centuries laid between then and now, he wasn't alive, nothing was like it had been when Lance's mother had been there. No, this was the past, someone else's past. Here laid his future, for an unforeseeable amount of time at least. Shay smiled and rested a hand on Lance's.

"It's okay. We get being homesick", assured Shay with a kind look in her eyes.

Lance's problem had never been homesickness. It was the yearning for the far-away. For the other world. For _this_ world. And he would stay, until he would truly grow homesick.

/break\

Shiro screamed as he was torn out of his nightmare. Home. The thought, the word, were on the tip of his tongue, in the forefront of his mind. He remembered home. Remembered being torn from it as the werewolves attacked and locked him away. His breathing was erratic, even though he didn't need to breath, hadn't needed to breath for many centuries now. It was a reflex, kicking in due to the panic. His fingers were clawed into the sheets, a one-handed grip. His eyes were drawn to his right arm, the stump where Zarkon had ripped his arm off in a fit of rage, furious that training his pet vampire didn't go the way he wanted it to. Shiro shuddered.

"It's alright", whispered Keith gently, carefully cupping Shiro's face. "You're alright. You're safe. We left the mansion. We left Zarkon behind. You and me, we're safe. We're _together_."

"Keith", whispered Shiro and turned toward Keith with a half-blank stare.

"Yes", confirmed Keith. "Keith. Your mate. You're safe."

It were moments like those that Keith loathed to be an alpha. Alphas were good at protecting, their musk was strong and intimidated the enemy, could also make pack and mates feel assured during a fight, knowing that the alpha protecting them would do good. But situations like those? Alphas had the tendency to only make the other feel more on edge with their pheromones. Omegas, they could calm. They had a naturally soothing effect on their pack-mates.

But it wasn't like they had a pack. It wasn't like they had _anyone_ but each other.

"You'll be fine. Both of us will be fine", promised Keith as he pulled Shiro closer.

The vampire, so tall and broad and strong, curled against Keith, seeking his warmth and embrace. He was shaking in Keith's arms and Keith wished he could take his mate's pain away. Moments like those, Keith wished they would at least have a pack. Someone to give them the feeling of home, or not being alone anymore. Or at least, that was what pack was supposed to be. Not that Keith had ever actually experienced that himself, but he liked to picture it. He'd like to experience it.

/break\

"Pre—etty kitty."

Narti blinked slowly, repeatedly. She tilted her head as she listened closely. The new boy, Lance McClain. He had moved in with their pack-humans. Such an odd thing to have. Both, a pack and pack-humans. Narti was a Naga and usually, the snake-women were loners by nature. Narti had lost much, during her isolated life. She was only a half-breed, half Naga and half human, and she had suffered for it. That was before the odd ones had come into her life. First Kova, the helpful demon cat who became her guide, her eyes. Then Ezor, too happy and loud and excitable, but at the same time it was also nice and calming. The werewolves - stoic Acxa and grumpy Zethrid. And then their leader Lotor had found them and given them a sense of purpose, of belonging together.

And here she was, part of an actual pack, all thanks to Lotor flirting with the high sorceress of Mamora. Introducing them to the pack of Mamora. Narti had expected things to fall apart at this point. Lotor had found a mate of his own race, a sorceress powerful and, far as Narti had heard, also beautiful. Acxa and Zethrid would be taken in by the pack, they were half wolves. Ezor, she was very open and sociable, she would have found a place somewhere too – and Narti would be left behind. That was what she had expected, at least. A blind and mute half-Naga. A _burden_. Others of her race would have long finished her off. Useless for hunting and not meant to survive. All her life she had fought, _fought so hard_ to survive. And at that point, she expected to be back at square one. On her own, fending for herself and fighting to survive.

Instead, Alpha Kolivan accepted them all into his pack. Wolves, sorcerer and demons alike. The pack already featured two Balmera demons in Shay and Rax. And they opened their pack, their home, to the bunch of misfits who never had a home before.

They also had their own humans. Fragile little creatures, not meant to face the supernatural. Narti, like the others, knew that it was important to protect their humans from possible threats. Including strange new humans who had just moved in with one of their humans and one of their wolves.

Lance McClain. Hunk trusted him, Pidge was amused and fond of him. Narti didn't know what to think of the boy just yet. There was something off with his scent. A Naga's sense of smell was far better than that of most other creatures and _something_ was wrong with this boy's scent. There was also something to the way he talked. A certain waver, very brief and barely noticeable, whenever he mentioned his home. Like a lie, a well-constructed lie rooted in reality but a lie nonetheless. It happened at other times too and Narti wasn't sure if it was just the way the boy was. Perhaps he just sometimes had emotional hiccups, of sorts. Or the boy was truly deceiving them.

There was more to his voice though. Not just well-hidden lies. There was also deep emotion. He wore his heart on his sleeve, usually. He was a highly emotional creature, expressing affections and praise genuinely. The way he spoke to Kova was kind and gentle. Narti found it hard to believe the boy to be truly _evil_ or _dangerous_ , even though he was clearly hiding something.

Which was why she kept her observations to herself for now, until she had definite proof.

She made a scratching sound with her nails against the wall, gaining Kova's attention. Taking the hand away, she made her way back inside, knowing the exact step-count and directions throughout the apartment she shared with Zethrid, Ezor and Acxa. Kova meowed and followed her inside.

"Have a good day, Miss Narti!", called Lance after her as she left the backyard.

Mamora was their safe place. She was going to keep an ear on Lance, in case he was a threat. Because what she would not allow was for _any_ kind of danger to threaten this life – this home and family – that she had _somehow_ found for herself. No harm would come to those who were hers.

/break\

Sendak sneered as he wiped his forehead. He _hated_ Florida. It was loud, it was hot and it was filled with the worst kind of humans – old ones and tourists. Laughing elderly ladies asking him for directions. He snarled. All he wanted was to find Kogane and the Alpha's pet.

Zarkon had made it _very_ clear what would happen if Sendak returned without them. He'd better not return at all, if he wanted to stay alive, in that case. Finding them was his only option.

He had failed once before. He could not afford to fail again. When Krolia and Kolivan had run away, abandoning the pack, it had been Sendak's responsibility to stop them – and he had failed. All he had managed was to kill her mate and take her cub.

That said cub would grow up to be as much trouble as Krolia herself – if not more, because everyone knew just how fond Zarkon was of his vampire pet – then Sendak would have left the cub to die, together with his useless father, instead of bringing him to the pack.

But back then, Sendak had hoped to raise the boy into a proper soldier, willing to serve Zarkon. Of course did Krolia's genes kick in and ruin everything and now, once again, Sendak had to chase a Kogane – only that this time around, he was not going to fail.

He was going to find Keith and bring Zarkon his head, return the vampire to Zarkon and be praised by the Alpha, recognized for what he was. Strong. Not a failure. Because failure was _not an option_.

There would be hell to pay for both Keith and the vampire. And as soon as Sendak would have them tracked down, he would make them pay. For the humiliation and distrust of Zarkon, for putting Sendak out here, into the stinking heat of Florida, for the troubles of having to seep through humans and sniff them out like a damn dog. And with every single day that Sendak had to search for them, his anger grew – and so would their punishment. He was going to _destroy_ them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enough with the introductions! Let the story actually begin! ^o^ Shiro and Keith will reach Mamora in the next chapter and there will be more Lance POV in that. ;)


	4. The Mysterious New Couple

_Chapter 3: The Mysterious New Couple_

Lance was humming softly to himself as he restocked the shelves. Rolo and Nyma's surf-shop was great. It had general beach-equipment, as well as snacks and newspapers and sandwiches and ice. Lance loved how the shop had its regulars in the local surfers, but also lots of happy tourists, families and couples. Lance loved working here, interacting with all those different kinds of humans who all shared one thing with Lance – their love for the ocean.

"So, how you liking it?", asked Nyma slowly, leaning forward on the counter.

She tucked her thick, blonde hair behind her ear, tilting her head some. It was still weird to see the yellow mermaid with human skin and traits. The female alpha was a grounding presence, even though she and Rolo used suppressants just like Lance – to mask their scents that would give away their supernatural nature. It was safer; there were many supernatural predators on land. Predators that would eat them like sushi (which: _yummy_. Lance was a huge fan!). Merpeople might be the greatest predators under the sea, but above it... they were _prey_.

"It's amazing!", exclaimed Lance with a chipper smile. "Allura is teaching me how to dance! It's so much fun and she says I'm a natural. And I love Hunk and Pidge, living with them is awesome."

"Don't get too invested in the humans", warned Rolo with a frown as he carried in a box. "We like our humans just fine, but we don't get overly invested. Every days is a day we could have to return home for good. Same goes for you. And you _do_ plan on returning home."

"Of course I do!", exclaimed Lance as he plopped down on the ground. "I just... I can't just not grow attached. They're nice! I like them."

"And that's okay, but you tend to... you tend to get invested with all of your heart", sighed Rolo.

"He's right", agreed Nyma, both eyebrows raised.

"I resent that implication!", huffed Lance with a pout, sticking his tongue out.

Turning around, he returned to his work. He knew both of them were right, he did tend to get overly invested in those he loved. And if he were to truly get invested in his new human friends, then he might just never leave the land again. Which would break his mother's heart and he couldn't do that.

/break\

Hunk _loved_ Lance. The boy was super enthusiastic about food. Whatever Hunk cooked, Lance's eyes would sparkle in excitement and he'd eat it like it was the very first time he had it – pizza, spaghetti, enchiladas, meatloaf, even mac'n'cheese. It was really motivating for a young cook in training like Hunk. Whatever Hunk wanted to try out, Lance was eager to taste it.

"This is the most amazing thing I've ever eaten!", mumbled Lance with a full mouth.

"You say that at every meal", muttered Pidge and shook her head.

"Because it _is_! Hunk is a genius!", declared Lance, swallowing hard.

Hunk blushed and smiled, puffing his chest out at the compliment. Lance smiled at his friend. He _loved_ human food. Under the sea, there were not many ways of preparing the food – and there kind of was only fish. Out here? All of those different animals with their different tastes? The different ways of preparing and seasoning and barbecuing it? Oh, it was _amazing_.

"You should weight like a ton with how enthusiastic you eat", snorted Pidge amused.

"I have high metabolism", offered Lance, stuffing his face some more. "What are we doing after dinner, guys? Do you have any plans...?"

"We figured we could go to the lagoon?", suggested Hunk. "It was Shay's idea."

The lagoon was Lance's favorite place in all of Mamora – or at least all of Mamora that he had seen so far. Altea was the capital city, but there were a couple of villages around too – and a deep, deep forest with mountains. In the forest, there was a beautiful waterfall leading into a lagoon. Sweet water, yet as fresh and wild as the water in the ocean. Lance was absolutely enchanted by it.

"Ye—es!", exclaimed Lance excitedly, bouncing on the balls of his feet.

/break\

Mamora had a lot of wilderness. His inner wolf wanted to explore, longed to be outside. He and Shiro had been cooped up inside a ship on the ocean for _weeks_ now. He just wanted to roam the wilderness. The mated pair had checked into a local inn, close to the harbor. Thankfully enough, it had been before sunrise that the ship had reached harbor so Keith and Shiro had been able to check in without Shiro burning to a crisp. But when the sun started to rise, Keith longed to go outside.

Shiro could see it in his mate's eyes, so he gently nudged Keith and told him to go and explore a little. Tonight, as soon as sun downed the two of them would explore _together_.

Keith was eager. He needed to stretch his legs. The city was too constricting and Mamora had a lush, large forest. A tropical forest – Keith had _never_ been to one of those. Pine-trees, chilly mountains, yes. But this? It was so different from anything Keith knew.

He paused when he smelt something. His eyes turned yellow for a flash as the scent hit his nose. Baring his fangs, he turned toward where the scent came from. Following it on silent feet, he reached a lagoon. There. The source of the scent. A large, bulky man. A native of the island, from the looks. With him was an insanely pale short girl and... under the waterfall, laughing as the water hit him, a Latino, the water running down his body, hazel-brown hair clinging to his face.

Keith tilted his head curiously as he watched the caramel-skinned abs and then the boy opened his eyes – and they were so startling blue and bright that even on the distance from his hiding place, Keith could see them very clearly. They were beautiful, out of this world.

Someone jumped into the lagoon, creating a big splash. It ripped Keith out of his musings. A gorgeous dark-skinned girl, laughing and swimming up to the large man who smelt like _wolf_. She too smelt different. But not like wolf. Something different. Different wasn't good. Wolf wasn't good either. Wolf could be working for Zarkon. Steering clear was what they had to do.

Before Keith left, his eyes found the blue-eyed human one last time.

/break\

Shiro frowned as he watched his tense mate work on the cream. Ever since he had returned from his little trip to the woods, Keith had been rather fiercely preparing it. It was a simple enough recipe made of fruits – and a mineral powder that made up the most important part of the cream. It covered the supernatural scent, made it impossible for other supernaturals to tell them apart from normal humans. The fierceness behind Keith's movements indicated something had happened.

"Want to talk to me, babe?", asked Shiro gently.

"Werewolf", growled Keith shortly. "Hanging out with humans. Don't know whether or not... he works for Zarkon. We have to make sure they can't tell what we are so they won't rattle us out."

"Okay", nodded Shiro, reaching out for Keith and pulling him closer. "You need to relax, love. They are most likely just a local pack. They probably don't have any connection to Zarkon."

"Most likely. But we can never be too sure, Shiro", muttered Keith annoyed.

"How about you let that rest for now and we go and explore the city?", suggested Shiro.

Sighing, Keith nodded and put the bowl aside. It needed to breath anyway.

/break\

Lance laughed softly as he was tucked under Zethrid's strong arm. The body-builder had grown oddly protective of him. Ezor was giggling where she hung off Zethrid's other arm. It was girls' night and somehow, the girls had decided to adopt Lance. Narti had one hand resting on Lance's other shoulder. It might look like the blind woman was using him as a guide, but Lance had quickly realized that she knew her way around this city even like that, especially with Kova on her leash. It was more about her wanting to make sure _Lance_ wouldn't get lost, or stumble. He was still not really good with his legs and kept bumping into things because he wasn't used to be bound by gravity instead of just flowing over the object. The others had noticed and thought he was just clumsy – he was graceful and elegant under the sea, but here living conditions were way different and even after a couple of weeks, Lance wasn't fully used to his new limbs.

"Too bad Acxa couldn't make it", mused Lance with a frown.

"Oh, she was busy. She will be fine", assured Allura with a smile.

She and Shay were walking ahead of the group. Lance was fully aware that Acxa didn't really like him. He didn't quite understand why, exactly, because normally people flocked to him – it was also partially due to his nature. Merpeople had always attracted attention and made people turn their heads. It was why they used to lure sailors to their deaths, known as sirens.

"Whe—ere are we going, girls?", asked Lance curiously.

"Dance-club", chimed Allura with a smile. "You have to show off your new skills!"

Lance made an excited sound as he followed them to the club in question. Once inside, they got themselves a table and a round of drinks. Two rounds in and they started hitting the dance-floor. Lance _had_ gotten particularly good at dancing. He was better at dancing than walking, really. It was easier. Following a melody, moving seductively. Him and Allura were laughing as they danced together, while Zethrid had started a drinking competition with Narti (Narti was winning).

"O—Oh. Lookie", whispered Lance suddenly, pausing.

"What is it, Lance?", asked Allura amused when Lance rested his chin on her shoulder.

"He's _pretty_ ", hummed Lance contently. "All dark and broody and really _hot_."

"You gotta turn around so I can see", chuckled Allura fondly, turning them around.

She hummed as she spotted 'dark and broody and really _hot_ '. Raising her eyebrows, she looked at the guy in the red leather-jacket, glaring as he nursed a beer. That was Lance's type? Oh dear. Oh _dear_. It seemed Zethrid and Narti had the right idea; Lance really needed someone to protect him. This boy over there promised nothing but trouble. And...

"Well, I guess you are a little late for that, Lance", noted Allura gently.

Frowning confused, Lance let Allura turn them around. "Oh. Wow. He has a _handsome_ boyfriend."

And he did. The black-haired one was joined by one with black hair but the fringe dyed white. He was a _broad_ guy, about two times the shorter one. A scar was running over his face, but it somehow made him look even more handsome. Lance hummed pleased as he leaned heavily on Allura.

"You are such a mess!", laughed Allura and shook her head.

"I hear that is what we bisexuals are", grumbled Lance with a pout.

He had tried flirting with Allura a few times, but she had shut him down quickly and firmly and he had accepted that. They became friends instead. Really good friends. Which, did seem to be a thing Lance excelled at. He grinned broadly as he watched the couple kiss.

"Let a guy dream, Lura", grumbled Lance, sticking his tongue out.

"Come on. Let's go and get some chicken wings", declared Allura with a smile.

Lance's eyes didn't leave the interesting couple, even as he allowed Allura to drag him back to their table. Zethrid had already eaten two servings of chicken wings, holding the third close with one arm and growling at Ezor every time she tried to steal one. Lance grinned as he slid down next to Zethrid and easily stole one while Narti distracted her.

"Hey, how come Lance gets to steal but we don't?", complained Ezor as she got growled at.

"Because the _runt_ can use the meat", growled Zethrid. "Look at him. Thin as a stick. Needs some padding on his ribs. He'd break like a twig if he were in a fight. Can't have that."

Lance grinned broadly as he ate his chicken wing, not minding her comments. Merpeople were just genetically dispositioned to be slim, athletic and graceful. Not muscular or broad. He could eat as much as he wanted, his body burned the calories right away. Licking his lips, Lance stole another.

/break\

"He—ey. What can I get you?", asked Lance with a smile.

Shiro stared, blinking slowly. Those eyes were _huge_ and bluer than the bluest part of the ocean. And his smile was simply blinding. It took Shiro a moment to take all that radiant positivity in. After all, the only person he had been spending time with in the past _years_ was his lovable but very grumpy and negative mate. Keith was the moon, soft but surrounded by darkness. This boy? Reminded Shiro more of the sun. Burning very bright and all-consuming.

"Hello?", asked the boy again, tilting his head. " _Can_ I do anything for you? Because we're about to close for the day and you're like our last costumer and I'd love to get home, you know."

"Right. I'm sorry. I just...", started Shiro embarrassed and shook his head. "My... husband and I are on our honeymoon. First time away. It's all a lot to take in. Oh, I'm sorry, I don't need to bore you with my life. Just... two sandwiches and two ice, please."

"It's not boring", assured Lance with a smile as he wrapped the sandwiches. "I love hearing about the different lives of the different people coming here. Tourists all have their own story and it's kind of amazing. All those people with the most different motivations, being drawn here. Ah! Now I'm the one boring you. I'm sorry. There you go. Ten bucks flat."

Smiling, Shiro put a twenty on the counter. "It's not boring either. I think... that is a beautiful way of looking at it, Lance."

"How do you know my name?", asked Lance surprised.

Shiro chuckled at the endearing expression on the human's face. "You wear a name-tag."

"Oh!", exclaimed Lance, cheeks flushing in embarrassment. "Right. Yeah. Uhm. Have a good night then, Mister. And enjoy the island. It's a real beauty."

"Shiro", offered Shiro after a beat, smiling. "My name. It's Shiro."

Lance's eyes sparkled as he returned the smile. "Have a good night, Shiro."

Still dazzled by the smile did Shiro return outside where his grumpy mate was leaning against a wall. It wasn't that Shiro desired someone bright and blinding, he loved Keith the way he was. He just found himself overwhelmed by this stark contrast. Smiling, he offered Keith the food.

"You need to relax some, Keith", chuckled Shiro softly. " _He_ has no power over us here. He doesn't know we are here. We arrived yesterday. Can we... please... try to enjoy it, for a little while?"

"I'm just... weary, Shiro", sighed Keith and leaned forward, resting his forehead against Shiro's chest. "I can't trust this peace, Shiro. I need to know you safe. And we're on a tropical island. Which. Not exactly the right climate for someone with your... _condition_."

Shiro laughed and wrapped his arms around Keith's waist, pulling him closer. "We will be fine. Just... Just for a little while, can't we enjoy this new start? Here, we are just tourists. Let us be tourists, Keith. _Please_. You and I had no chance to be _together_ and _enjoy_ each other yet."

"...Okay", grumbled Keith against Shiro's chest. "Let's do this... romantic walk on the beach thing."

Smiling pleased, Shiro left one arm around Keith's waist as the two started walking.

/break\

Lance was curled together on the couch, patting Kova as the dark kitten was curled together next to him, purring loudly. Narti and Pidge were playing chess. Which, while not overly exciting to watch, did give him a sense of... cove. A cove was the familial group of merpeople, their version of a flock or pack. Not being under the sea with his family was getting more and more... draining. Lance was an omega, omegas _needed_ their familial group. Someone to nurture and love, to make him feel home. His new humans had become that for him.

"Hey there, sleepy-head", whispered Hunk gently as he placed a plate in front of him. "Cookies."

"I love you, Hunk", sighed Lance contently, inhaling deeply. "Yu—ummy."

"You know, you are blessed that Shay isn't the jealous type", offered Pidge offhandedly.

"I would totally be fine keeping them both", assured Lance with an innocent smile.

"You're a horn-dog", grunted Pidge pointedly and shook her head.

"I am just very affectionate and _seek_ affection", huffed Lance, sticking his tongue out.

"You need to get laid", translated Pidge with a roll of her eyes. "Queen to h6."

Lance made a high-pitched, embarrassed noise, while Narti hummed curiously, tilting her head. Both, about Pidge's move, but also her comment on Lance. The boy did need a mate. Mainly for safety reasons but a good 'romp in the sheets', as Zethrid had called it, might help too.

/break\

Lance smiled excitedly when he saw Shiro's husband. He had just been silly when commenting on how hot the duo was, but after talking to Shiro yesterday? He was so nice. If his husband was as nice, then Lance, at the very least, would like to become friends with them.

"Hey! Shiro's husband! Hello!", called Lance out.

The man froze and turned around with a dangerous glare on his face, before pinning Lance against the nearest wall. "Who are you? Who sent you?"

"W—What?", squeaked Lance surprised, eyes wide.

"How do you know Shiro's name?", growled Keith, putting some pressure on Lance.

Lance frowned, struggling. "Dude. You're a psycho! I saw you two at the club the other day. And yesterday, your husband was in my shop. He introduced himself to me. I just... wanted to say hi. Thought maybe your husband would be with you, because he was very _nice_."

Snarling, Keith backed off. Was that true? He had to talk to Shiro about it. Just because this human boy was cute to look at did not mean he was not dangerous. He had been with the werewolf when Keith had last seen him. They could be spies, sent by Zarkon.

"Don't follow me again", growled Keith in warning.

"You're a _total_ weirdo", huffed Lance disturbed, stepping away as soon as he could.

He started looking around frantically. He needed to get out of this. Shiro was a sweetheart, but his husband was _crazy_ and Lance knew that if threatened, he needed to go to busy streets and start looking for familiar faces. His humans had taught him that in the past weeks, being worried because Lance was too friendly to strangers. It was just, in Atlantis, there were no strangers. Everyone knew everyone and thus was friendly with each other. The human concept of not even talking to the people living in the house right next to them, it was _utterly_ bewildering to Lance.

"He—ey! Hey, Krolia!", exclaimed Lance relieved when he indeed spotted someone familiar.

Krolia, Kolivan and Zethrid were heading home from the grocery store, by the look of it. Waving wildly, Lance hurried to join them, throwing a last weary look over his shoulder at the stranger.

"You look distressed, runt", grunted Zethrid with a frown, following his line of sight. "Did the dude harass you? Tell me and I'll break him in half."

"Zee, we talked about this", sighed Krolia, though she too looked at the man down the street in the red jacket, who was now turning around and leaving quickly. "No uncalled violence."

"It's okay", laughed Lance with a smile, taking a bag from Krolia. "Let me help you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have grown fond of writing Lotor's generals. Now, Krolia is very suspicious of the boy in the red jacket who upset her pack-human, so it's time to investigate. And boooy is she in for a surprise! ;D


	5. A Cliffhanger

_Chapter 4: A Cliffhanger_

Krolia frowned as she watched the young man. Red leather-jacket. The one who had upset one of their pack-humans the other day. Colleen cleared her throat to gain Krolia's attention.

"Olia, you keep spacing out", noted Colleen concerned.

Sharking her head, Krolia turned to look at her company. Colleen and Allura. The three women regularly went out for coffee together. It was nice, for Krolia, to have adult women in her company again. Acxa, Zethrid, Ezor and Narti all were in their twenties, still rather young.

"The boy inside, with the red jacket, he has been... harassing Lance the other day", stated Krolia.

"Harassing?", asked Colleen wide-eyed. "What do you mean?"

"I'm unsure. But Lance's heart-rate was insane when he found us. He was out of breath, rattled and there was bruising around his throat", relayed Krolia with a frown.

Colleen also frowned as she turned to look at the boy. Krolia liked the woman. A human, but a very fierce and loving woman. The Holts were a strong family. Allura sighed and took a sip.

"Lance is very... trusting. He will get himself into trouble one day", noted Allura.

"I figured I'd trail the guy, to see what his agenda is", offered Krolia. "Once I find him. And now..."

"You're ditching us, aren't you?", sighed Allura half-amused and shook her head. "You're as fiercely protective of him as you are of the rest of your pack."

"But the resemblance is uncanny", whispered Colleen surprised.

"Resemblance?", echoed Krolia confused.

Allura choked on her coffee as she caught a look of the guy's face too. "Krolia, he looks like a younger carbon copy of you! He even has your peculiar purple eyes. And the face-shape."

The frown on Krolia's face deepened as she took a closer look at the guy too. Without saying another word to the other two women, she got up from her seat to follow the boy in the red jacket when he left the coffee-shop with two coffees and a bag of baked goods. It was impossible. The boy could not be who he appeared to be. It was _absolutely impossible_. She followed him down the street, making a sharp corner, another sharp corner into a darker alley. The next moment, she had a knife against her throat and was pinned against a wall, coffee spilling on the ground as purple eyes stared sharply and fiercely at her with the same intense determination she herself had.

"Who are you? Why are you following me?", asked the boy, growled, really.

"Who are _you_?", asked Krolia sharply as she easily rolled them over and pinned the boy against the wall instead, now having his knife in her hand and against his throat."Why are you so paranoid? Who are you running from? You're not _human_ , right? What is your _name_?"

"How did you-", asked the boy stunned, staring at her.

She looked at him, really looked at his eyes. "...Keith...? But you can't be. You can't be Keith. How did you get here? How did you _survive_?"

"Survive? How do you know my _name_? Who are you?!", asked Keith, frustrated and annoyed.

Letting go of him, Krolia backed off wide-eyed. "I am... Krolia Kogane."

"What?", asked the boy, staring at her just as wide-eyed. "How? Who? ...What?"

"I... I am your... _mother_ ", whispered Krolia.

"That's impossible! My mother died!", snarled Keith, baring his fangs.

"And who told you that? Zarkon? Sendak? The man who tried to kill me? Who took you and your father from me? I thought you _died_!", countered Krolia, tears shining in her eyes.

Shaking his head wildly, Keith backed off and ran away as fast as he could. All Krolia could do was stare after him, but by the time she reacted, he was already long gone. Keith raced back to the hotel, food and coffee forgotten. He startled his mate, but it took Shiro only moments to realize that something must have happened to rattle his mate. Carefully, Shiro got up to go to Keith.

"Hey", whispered Shiro gently, carefully wrapping his arms around Keith. "Hey. It's okay. What's going on, babe? What happened? It's alright, you're safe..."

"I... I think I... met my mother", muttered Keith, clinging onto his mate. "Y—You've been... You've been in Zarkon's captivity for a long time, right? You... must have heard of my mother or... or met her, right? I know I never asked about her, I never wanted to think about the... past. Because I thought she was dead and I'd never... get to meet her anyway. But... But if there's any _chance_..."

"Her... Her name was Krolia", whispered Shiro, caressing Keith's hair. "She was... against Zarkon. Mainly be cause _he_ was against her, after he found out she was pregnant from a human. From what I heard – the guards love to gossip – Krolia and some others were planning to... rise against Zarkon. He hunted them down, presumably slaughtering them all. But... why would _he_ admit someone escaped? Of course he'd claim they all died, to make an example of them. It is far more likely some of them managed to escape. Perhaps, your mother among them."

"What are you saying, Shiro?", asked Keith, mildly exhausted.

"Perhaps we should go and speak to her", suggested Shiro very carefully.

/break\

"Here. Tea", offered Allura gently.

"What's got you so... shaken up, Krolia?", asked Lotor concerned.

Krolia sighed and leaned back. Kolivan was eyeing her suspiciously. It was apparently rather obvious that something was on her mind. Narti was sitting on the couch, patting Kova. Zethrid and Ezor sat with her, Zethrid's arms crossed. It was Acxa who was looming, hovering about.

"I had a run-in with... my... son", whispered Krolia lowly.

"Wait. Son? What son?", asked Ezor stunned.

"The one who died... supposedly", muttered Krolia, running her fingers through her hair. "When... When Kolivan and I fled the Galra pack, my... my love, he died. And with him, my son. Or so I thought. Maybe... he survived. Maybe Sendak took him back to the pack."

"Here. Vodka", grunted Zethrid as she went to Lotor's secret stash.

"A lost son. That is truly... fascinating", hummed Coran, Allura's uncle. "Do you wish us to perform a tracking spell to find him?"

"No. He... ran off. I'm not chasing him to force him to talk to me", sighed Krolia. "He hides his scent, his nature. We don't. When he's ready to talk, he will find us."

"For now, I think Zethrid has the right idea", grunted Kolivan with a frown.

"Day-drinking. Wonderful", sighed Allura, but she did get them all glasses.

/break\

"You... You _are_ her... right?"

Krolia only startled a little and she blamed the alcohol she had consumed in the past five hours. In her dark apartment sat two figures. The _two_ was what had her alert within moments. She turned on the light just to be even more surprised. Her son was not alone.

"Takashi Shirogane", whispered Krolia surprised.

"We were never formally introduced, I think, but yes. Krolia Kogane, right?", asked Shiro.

"What... What is the meaning of this?", asked Krolia with a deep frown.

"A few months ago, Keith and I escaped the Galra together", supplied Shiro. "We have been running from Zarkon since then. But I think the far more interesting story is yours."

Keith just sat quietly, staring at her with unblinking eyes. Sighing, Krolia approached them and sat down opposite of them on the couch, her eyes never leaving her son.

"You were barely born when we ran. Kolivan – friends of mine and I – we fled. Zarkon had found out about us trying to overthrow him. They hunted us, viciously. A... A dozen of our wolves died. Your father... and... I thought you too... I... I spent the past twenty years believing you're dead."

As composed as she usually was, she could not hold in the tears at that. There sat her son. The son she had believed to be dead. A sob wrecked her. Keith still looked at her wearily, but with so much hope. It took him a moment before he got up and essentially threw himself at her.

"M... Mother...", whispered Keith, voice breaking.

"My boy", whispered Krolia with a teary smile. "My little boy. My precious little boy."

Shiro smiled to himself as he watched them hug, be reunited.

/break\

"Wow. I mean. Wow. Krolia has a son. And he's alive. And he has a vampire mate. Wow."

"Thank you for summarizing the past two hours in two sentences, Hunk", sighed Kolivan.

Hunk grinned sheepishly. The pack had gathered, all of them – Kolivan stood with Krolia, Keith and Shiro, while Acxa, Zethrid, Narti, Ezor, Shay and Hunk sat on one of the couches. Sam, Colleen, Matt, Pidge, Allura, Coran and Lotor sat on the other couch. They had gathered them all to introduce Shiro and Keith, after Krolia had spent half the night telling the mated pair what she and Kolivan had accomplished in the past two decades. Their own time on the run, how they had slowly gathered their mismatched little pack. Today, it was time to introduce them to each other.

"Well, welcome to the pack, Keith", grinned Hunk and offered his hand.

Keith frowned at the hand. Welcome to the pack? Just like that? Keith... and Shiro? Would be able to join an actual pack? Just because he happened to be Krolia's son? Wearily, he looked around the room at everyone present. Some looked a little skeptical, but all were varying degrees of welcoming of Keith and of Shiro. The sorceress stepped up to Shiro, smiling and offering a hand.

"As Hunk said. And welcome to Altea", added Allura gently. "This is a safe place."

"Even for a vampire?", asked Keith, just an edge of hostile.

"My brother, a Balmera demon like me, he's the local butcher", offered Shay with a slow nod. "We can supply him with blood. Just not human. Humans are friends, not snacks."

"Oh yes, we are", agreed Pidge and nodded seriously.

"I can do that", assured Shiro. "I am centuries old. I have control."

"We'll see about that", grunted Kolivan cautiously. "Forgive me but I _am_ the Alpha. I am responsible for this pack. And until you have proven that you are not a danger, I will have someone from my pack keep tabs on you."

"That is only fair, Kolivan", agreed Shiro, silencing Keith before he could protest. "Excuse my mate. Keith is very... protective."

"Like mother, like son", grunted Kolivan half-amused.

/break\

"STALKER!"

Within seconds, Pidge and Hunk were flanking their roommate, armed. Pidge with a butcher-knife and Hunk with... a frying pan. Pidge eyed him doubtfully before turning his attention toward the person Lance had screamed at. Sighing, Pidge slowly lowered her knife.

"Lance, it's okay", assured Pidge. "That's Keith. Krolia's son."

"Krolia has a _son_?!", asked Lance wide-eyed, staring from Pidge to Hunk to Keith. "Why does no one tell me _anything_ around here?! But still! He _threatened_ me!"

Frowning, Hunk lifted his frying pan again and stared at Keith, waiting for an explanation. "I... came here, to apologize. After... mother introduced me to you, I figured that the blue-eyed one has to be your friend. And that I... misread things. It was a... misunderstanding."

"Misunderstanding?", asked Lance doubtfully.

"Yes", gritted Keith out. "I thought you were... following me. I have a slight paranoia problem, as my husband tells me. We came here... tracking my... mother. I was... adopted as a baby and came to find my birth mother. I've been on edge. I didn't... I don't mean you any harm. I'm... sorry."

Still, Lance first turned toward Hunk and Pidge wearily, waiting for them to nod in confirmation. Huffing softly, Lance turned back toward Keith and nodded.

"Okay. Apology accepted. But threaten me again and I'll drown you, mullet-head."

"M... Mullet-head?", huffed Keith with a glare, earning an innocent shrug from Lance.

/break\

Keith was not as much a dick as initially suspected. Pidge and Hunk started to drag him along to their outings like he was just now a part of their group and while still a bit weary of him, Lance did kind of enjoy spending time with him. Keith emitted this odd... feeling of safety. Still, Lance kinda liked Shiro more because Shiro was just sweet and kind. Sadly, Shiro never really tagged along when they went somewhere, only when they would leave after dark. The past three days, Shiro had canceled because of a cold. So Lance took one of Hunk's recipe books and did his best to make a chicken soup. When Pidge had been down before, Colleen Holt had come over with soup and said that it was guaranteed to heal anything. So, clearly, this magical food could help Shiro.

"What?", growled Keith annoyed as he opened the door, though the frown melted a little when he realized who stood in front of their door. "...What do you want, Lance?"

"I made chicken soup for Shiro!", declared Lance with a bright smile.

A week ago, Shiro and Keith had moved into their apartment complex. Kolivan and Krolia had nearly insisted on that. It was odd, having an actual _apartment_. Having an actual _pack_. They worried, visited, were curious about him. And then there was Lance. The pack human who had no idea about anything. Frowning, Keith took the container of soup from Lance.

"...Thank you. I'll... make sure he gets it", whispered Keith softly, eyeing Lance.

"Good! Tell him to get better soon so we can go to the beach", smiled Lance.

/break\

"You have been settling in well", observed Allura with a smile.

Keith and Shiro were over for dinner, because the sorceress wanted to talk to them in peace. Keith was a loner, he kept his distance from the pack, though he occasionally couldn't fight Pidge, Hunk and Lance off when they would drag him somewhere. But over the past two weeks, Lance had grown more and more suspicious of the fact that Shiro always canceled when they wanted to go for dinner or shopping or the beach. Being a vampire on a tropical island was not the best fit.

"Lance has been an absolute sweetheart", smiled Shiro. "He keeps bringing me chicken soup, saying that it 'heals everything', since Keith has been excusing me with having a cold."

"Ah. That is exactly why Allura wanted to speak to you", smiled Lotor, filling Shiro's glass.

Shiro accepted the glass of blood. "How so, if I may ask?"

"You've been here for three weeks now and have not even nibbled on any human", pointed Allura out with a smile. "I had a conversation with Kolivan and Krolia and we agreed that you seem trustworthy. So Lotor, Coran and I worked on a little... welcoming present. To _truly_ welcome you onto our island and into our... family. Here."

She got out a large box. Confused, Shiro opened it, just to stare. It was a prosthetic arm. A very realistic looking prosthetic arm. Lotor came around the table to help Shiro put it on and connect it properly. Shiro looked at it in awe while Keith watched wearily.

"Move", offered Allura. "The same neurological commands you used on your real arm, they will work and make the arm move properly. It will also transmit feeling – touch – to your brain."

"How?", asked Keith suspiciously.

"Magic, my dear boy", laughed Coran as he walked into the kitchen to steal a plate of food. "Allura is not the most talented sorceress for nothing. The arm is enchanted."

"I also linked another spell to it", tagged Allura on. "A protection spell. Protection from the sun. You will be able to walk in the daylight as any human."

Shiro blinked surprised. He hadn't felt the sun in too many centuries. The thought that magic would give him the sun back...? Not just his arm but also the sun. Without thinking on it, he pulled a startled Lotor and Allura into a tight hug. And he could feel it. Could feel the fabric of Allura's dress brush against the arm that wasn't truly his, as though it was real.

"Keith, I want to go swimming with you", smiled Shiro. "I want to go to the lagoon with you. It was so beautiful by night, but I want to feel the sun-warmed water on my skin, lay on the sand with you, my love. Just you and me, after lunch, yes?"

Keith frowned, not entirely convinced of the magic but tempted by the idea.

/break\

Today was a good day. Shiro and Keith had 'date night', Hunk was working late, Pidge was busy with some kind of project with her big brother. Shay never came to the lagoon without Hunk. Lance was at the lagoon, on his own. Closing his eyes, he jumped off the cliff to dive right into the lagoon. As soon as he broke surface, his body changed, his legs merged into a tail and he stayed under water for a few minutes, breathing the fresh water and swimming with the fishes.

What he did not see from his spot under the water was that Shiro and Keith were on top of the cliff. They had decided to go to the lagoon, since Keith had rather fallen in love with that spot and it seemed like the perfect place for their first outing in the sun. Shiro was taking every step rather tentatively, turning his hand over to feel the warmth, pausing and craning his neck to let his face enjoy the heat too. The vampire was holding his mate's hand, with his new magic prosthetic, feeling the warmth of Keith's hand in his own. And as they reached the end of the river where it fell down into the lagoon, Shiro smiled pleased to see Lance standing there. He had grown inexplicably fond of the radiant human and he enjoyed how Lance managed to fluster Keith.

"La-", started Shiro and lifted a hand in greeting.

But before the vampire had time to even finish the name, Lance just jumped off the cliff. Keith's eyes widened and he sprinted forward. The cliff was high. Too high to just jump into the small lagoon like that without breaking bones when hitting the surface.

"Stupid, breakable little human", spat Keith as he ran up to the edge of the cliff.

He nearly slipped and fell, but Shiro grabbed him by the back of his jacket and pulled him back. "Keith! Be a bit more careful. Do you... Do you see him? Is he alright?"

"He's not resurfacing!", snarled Keith, fighting against Shiro's grip. "He's _drowning_ , Shiro. Let me jump after him to save his stupid, little ass, Shiro."

Shiro gritted his teeth. There was no way he would let his mate just jump off a cliff like that, but there was also no way he was going to let their kind little human drown. Before either of them could act however did the surface break and a fish jumped out, much like a dolphin. Only that it was only half a fish. Shiro's grip loosened as he stared wide-eyed. The creature emerged again, floating on the surface and flapping his blue tail. The upper half, while also blue, was very distinctively _Lance_. The merman slowly blinked his eyes open and froze as he stared up at them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See, the title is a good pun, right? Because for once the cliffhanger is actually hanging at the edge of a cliff. ^o^
> 
> Now, obviously does the next chapter involve a lot of talking. About all their kept secrets.


	6. A Fish out of Water

_Chapter 5: A Fish out of Water_

Lance was pacing the room in utter disbelief. Not enough that he hadn't been cautious to hide his secret, no turned out he wasn't the only one with a secret. To sooth him when he panicked, Shiro and Keith spilled their own secret. A vampire and a werewolf. A mated pair of alphas. That did explain why he felt so instinctively safe around them. Alphas protected omegas.

But beyond Shiro and Keith, apparently _everyone_ was supernatural. He continued pacing their living room, shooting Hunk, Shay and Pidge looks. Pidge's eyebrows were raised and he could tell that she was itching to ask a million questions. Well, so was he.

"So. I... I expected there to be supernaturals on this island. I've been warned about it. To be cautious of the land predators. But... so many... all of you...", muttered Lance with a frown.

"I'm sorry for lying to you, bro", mumbled Hunk, looking like a kicked puppy.

"No, no. I'm not mad about that! I mean, I lied too! I'm just... confused", sighed Lance and collapsed on the couch. "You are... not... what I was taught you'd be. Werewolves are mindless, dangerous, fur-covered monsters. That's what we were taught. That all land-predators are dangerous. That I need to be cautious. But... you're like the fluffiest nicest dude ever, Hunk."

"Aw, man", grinned Hunk with a sentimental sob.

"So you're a merman. I have _so many_ questions", stated Pidge, eyes sparkling.

Lance's eyes flickered through the room. The rest of his friends stood there, leaning against the walls and sitting on chairs, watching him. He had been told what they are, but he still had a hard time believing it. His eyes found Keith and Shiro again, lingering on the mated pair.

"How have you not been able to tell what we are?", grunted Zethrid. "We don't use scent blockers. Since this is _our_ territory and every newbie's gotta know who's boss."

"Human skin, human senses", shrugged Lance. "If I were a merman, I would have been able to smell it from the get-go. At the lagoon, I could... smell Shiro and Keith. I mean, that they're alphas and that they are... something else... now I know what vampire and werewolf smells like. But... when I'm in my human form, my senses get dampened."

"That makes sense", nodded Matt, taking notes. "And why are you here? I mean, why did you choose to shed your scales to live on land...?"

"Yeah. If being human would mean missing my senses, no thanks", grunted Zethrid.

Lance shrugged sheepishly. "I was... curious. Most merpeople go through that. Spending time on land to learn about the human world. My mother lived on Cuba back then. I... came here, because friends of mine live here. I love this... world. It's so different from everything I know. The bright colors, the _green_ – so much green! The way you build your cities. Gravity! Gravity is fascinating out here. I mean, we have that too, I guess, but it _feels_ different? Under water, I can just... swim freely, left and right and up and down. If there is a thing in my path, I can swim around it."

"Ah. That is why you're so clumsy", laughed Allura. "I have been wondering about that. You seem hardly able to coordinate your legs and you always look so frustrated when you run into something. I've been worried about that, if it is some neurological illness."

"Nah, it's just the being bound to the ground thing", shrugged Lance nonchalantly.

"So the runt is a guppy and we're keeping him, yeah?", grunted Zethrid, looking at Kolivan.

Kolivan heaved a sigh and looked at Keith, Shiro and then Lance. Taking in strays was apparently what their pack did by now. With another even heavier sigh did Kolivan nod.

/break\

"This is so cool", declared Ezor excitedly as she tried to out-swim Lance.

"You're so cool!", countered Lance equally excited as he looked at the red-skinned demon.

The pack was at the lagoon so Lance could show off his skills and his merman-self. Keith sat at the edge on a rock, watching the beautiful merman in awe. Blue and smelling sweet like omega.

"You have a crush", whispered Shiro lowly. "Don't worry. I've noticed it before."

"He is... loud-mouthed and stubborn. But... cute", mumbled Keith frustrated, glaring at Lance. "And now he smells like _omega_. Sweet and... alluring. But I never wanted an omega. I have _you_."

"And you're not getting rid of me any time soon", assured Shiro, kissing Keith on the neck.

"Then... what are you suggesting?", asked Keith confused.

"To get to know him and just... see where it goes", offered Shiro gently. "I love you, Keith. But Lance is... special. And I think he could make us... more special."

"Where is this coming from?", grunted Keith with a frown.

"I can feel my inner alpha being drawn to him", shrugged Shiro. "I think it'd be worth to... see."

Humming, Keith leaned against Shiro's chest, eyes drawn back toward the omega. "Maybe."

/break\

"Blimey. We've been living here for so many years now and never realized", grunted Rolo surprised, looking first at his mate Nyma and then at Lance.

"Yeah, I figured... you should know who the pack is", shrugged Lance and wiggled his nose.

"So, are you okay with that?", asked Nyma, looking at Lance carefully.

"I don't know", hummed Lance and tilted his head. "I mean. It's super weird. I always... expected demons and werewolves to be mean and dangerous. Now my best friends are werewolves and demons. But they're teaching me so much about their culture and it's... really amazing."

"As long as you're fine", sighed Nyma, patting his head.

Grinning and ducking his head out from her hand, Lance went to prepare more sandwiches and wrap them up for sale. In the middle of that, he was interrupted by someone clearing their throat in front of him. Blinking and looking up, he saw Shiro smiling at him. Next to Shiro, as most of the times, a grumpy Keith, glaring around and settling his glare on Rolo close-by.

"He—ey", greeted Lance. "What can I do for you?"

"You're off to lunch-break soon, right?", asked Shiro with that kind smile of his.

"Uhm. Yeah?", nodded Lance after checking the clock.

"Then make that three sandwiches and three sodas and one Lance to go", smiled Shiro.

"Lunch's on us", grunted Keith. "We saved a nice spot in the sun. Join us?"

Blinking slowly, Lance found himself blushing as he packed up the order. Now that was just silly. They were friends. He spent his lunch-break with his friends on a regular base. Nodding to himself, Lance took the money from Shiro and then left the counter in Rolo's care. Rolo, who was still being glared at by Keith. As they left, Keith spotted Nyma and also glared at her. Only that she glared back. Confused, Lance looked from Keith to his two friends.

"Why are you glaring at them?", asked Lance. "They're my friends."

Keith grumbled beneath his breath and tugged Lance along toward where they had spread a blanket. Honestly, Keith was still a total weirdo. But somehow, Lance had still grown fond of the weirdo.

"Thanks for lunch", said Lance as they sat down and he got the sandwiches out.

"You eat a lot, someone's gotta keep you fed", offered Keith before backtracking when Shiro elbowed him. "I mean, you have a high metabolism, being a merman. So..."

"Just... stop talking?", offered Lance with a frown. "You're really not good at it."

"Tell me about it", huffed Keith annoyed. "I'm just..."

"He's not very used to conversation", chuckled Shiro. "He's only used to... me. He's never had much contact to others, because he never fit in with the old pack."

"Which, a good thing", nodded Lance. "Judging by everything that you told us about it."

"I am... trying", sighed Keith frustrated, running his fingers through his hair.

"Ye—eah. I can actually tell", grinned Lance, nudging Keith. "Like, really. You've been trying. Hanging out with us even when you don't really want to. You're... nice. When you wanna be."

"Really?", asked Keith surprised and maybe a little flustered.

"Yeah", nodded Lance, his smile blinding.

And for the first time, Keith really understood. He understood why Shiro had compared Lance to the sun and Keith to the moon. And just _perhaps_ , the moon really did need the sun. Urgh.

/break\

Shiro blinked confused as he adjusted the shells decorating the balcony. They had started appearing two weeks ago. At first just one and he had thought maybe Keith had brought it. But by now, the entire rail was decorated with shells neatly laid out in a line.

"Shiro?", asked Keith as he stuck his head out. "Ah. Have you brought more shells?"

"Me?", grunted Shiro, eyebrows knitted as he turned around. "I thought you-"

"...Do I look like the shell-picking type?", snorted Keith and rolled his eyes. "Wait. If you didn't put the shells there and _I_ didn't put the shells there... who did?"

Still frowning, Shiro pocketed one of the shells before going inside. "Doesn't matter for now. How is dinner coming along? I wouldn't want to keep Lance waiting."

"Dinner is nearly ready. I made a lot. Omegas do eat a lot", grunted Keith and paused. "But I need to stop pointing that out to Lance because he keeps pouting."

Shiro chuckled as he went to set the table. He was still getting used to having an arm back. It had been decades since he had lost it. Getting used to having two arms to do things was still rather odd to Shiro, if he was being honest. When the doorbell rang, he smiled and kissed Keith's cheek.

"Hey, guys. I... uhm... brought wine? And flowers", offered Lance. "Allura taught me that's polite."

"She's been teaching you a lot about human manners, huh?", chuckled Shiro and took the flowers.

Smiling Lance leaned in to hug Shiro and kiss his cheeks, much to Shiro's surprise. The two of them were good friends by now and Lance was very physical, but a kiss on the cheek was still new.

"Ye—es. Allura is awesome", grinned Lance as he followed Shiro out to the balcony.

"We figured we could eat outside today. I'm... still trying to get as much sun as possible", admitted Shiro a little sheepishly. "And we would have the perfect view on the sunset."

"That sounds... nice", smiled Lance with a blush. "Oh, hey, Keith."

"Hey. Dinner's ready and served", offered Keith and motioned at the steaming plates.

Though before sitting down, Lance frowned very displeased and stared at the rail running around their balcony. "There is one missing."

Shiro and Keith exchanged a confused look at that. "What do you mean, Lance?"

Instead of a verbal answer, Lance pressed his finger down on the white-painted wood, in between the line of shells, where one spot was empty. The place where Shiro had picked the shell off from earlier. Blinking a couple of times, Shiro got the shell out of his pocket again.

"...Lance... do you... know where those shells come form?", asked Shiro as he put the one back.

Lance looked relieved and pleased as he saw the shell back in line. "Yes. I put them there."

"Why are you putting your shell-collection onto _our_ balcony?", asked Keith suspiciously.

Now, Lance was aiming a frown at Keith. "Yes. I... put them there? I thought that was why you invited me to dinner, alone. Without Pidge and Hunk, even though they're home too."

"I'm sorry, but why would you redecorating our balcony lead to that conclusion?", asked Shiro.

"Because I'm courting you", replied Lance, blinking repeatedly and tilting his head. "I thought you invited me over for what humans would call a date."

"What?", asked Keith, eyebrows raised and voice flat. "But you're an _omega_."

"Why are you saying it like that, mullet-head?", asked Lance a bit hostile. "Shiro, why is he-"

"I assure you he doesn't mean it like that", interrupted Shiro hastily, resting one hand on Keith's arm and one on Lance's. "It's just... here on land, _alphas_ are the ones courting omegas."

"Well, that's just nonsense", frowned Lance confused. "No. Omegas pick the strongest, fiercest, most handsome alpha and then we claim them, by marking their territory with shells. I picked you."

"...Oh", whispered Keith, uncharacteristically flustered. "Uhm..."

"So... this isn't a date then?", asked Lance and deflated. "You did not agree to my courting?"

"Well, we didn't know you were courting us", offered Shiro with a gentle smile, slipping his hand down to grasp Lance's. "And to be perfectly honest, _this_ is... us courting you. Because in our culture, alphas court omegas. Mostly with food, to show we can provide for you."

"That's even more nonsense?", muttered Lance and blinked slowly. "Omegas are the hunters."

"...Things seem to be rather different between our cultures", said Shiro with a small smile. "How about from here on out, we just _say_ what we want, because apparently our traditions do not align."

"That sounds like a good plan", agreed Lance and nodded wildly.

"So, Keith and I prepared this dinner for you because that's how alphas in our culture show an omega that they care for them and can provide for them", explained Shiro. "Because we mostly court with food. Self-caught and self-prepared."

"Okay. And I... placed shells on your balcony because the balcony is a weak-spot in your territory", offered Lance in return. "We mark the shells and place them at weak-spots through which enemies could invade to make sure they know that the alpha living there already belongs to an omega."

"That... That's really cute", admitted Keith and tilted his head.

Lance grinned and ducked his head. "So wait. Does that mean the lunch-breaks that kept being more frequent lately... was that also part of your... uh... courting?"

"Yes, it was", confirmed Shiro. "Now, how about we eat before it gets cold?"

"Ye—es! It looks and smells delicious!", agreed Lance with a bright smile.

Keith straightened up and puffed his chest out at the praise of his chosen omega. Finally, things were going right for Keith. He had found his supposedly dead mother, he had found a place in a pack, made friends, while his mate could walk in the sun – and now there was this pretty, funny and very caring omega who seemed as eager for them as they were for him.

/break\

Sendak snarled as he boarded the ship. A ship. Wolves were not made to travel the _sea_. They were supposed to be bound by land. Roam the forests and mountains. Not be on a cursed metal-box in the middle of the ocean. But that was where it was leading him. The last he had seen of Shirogane and Kogane had been security footage of them boarding one of those blasted monstrosities.

"A complimentary cocktail, sir. Enjoy your travels."

Sendak sneered as he took the pink, frilly drink and tugged on the collar of his very obnoxious Hawaiian shirt. He had to blend in. Oh, he hated _absolutely everything_ about this mission. At this point, he was highly motivated to tear out Kogane's throat before dragging the vampire back.

/break\

"So—o, you've been _courting_ Shiro and Keith?", drawled Ezor with a broad grin.

Lance sat up doe-eyed and stared at his friend. Zethrid huffed and sat down on his other side.

"I... I mean... I guess...?", mumbled Lance flustered.

"That's cute", grunted Zethrid gruffly, slapping Lance on the back. "Keith's a bit of a runt, but the vampire is strong. He'll be able to protect you well."

"I don't need to be protected", muttered Lance and rolled his eyes.

"Sure you don't, guppy", teased Zethrid with a smirk.

"But don't you have plans of returning to your family? In the ocean?", asked Ezor with a frown.

"I mean...", started Lance hesitantly, pulling his legs up. "I... I love this? Not them. Not yet. I like them _a lot_ and over the course of courting I might fall in love with them, but... This island. This culture. This world. This pack. I've never felt this free under the sea. I don't want to leave. And... And it's not like I... like I can't return. I can visit my family whenever I want. I'm old enough to move out, to start my own life. Most my older siblings already did, so why not I?"

"Because you want to live on shore", offered Ezor and tilted her head.

"...Okay, yeah", mumbled Lance with a defiant glare.

"You'll figure something out, guppy", smirked Zethrid. "Use them wide blue ones of yours and your mother's not gonna be able to deny you anything. Been working on our pack so far."

Lance grinned a little bit and ducked his head. "I'm going out to get the groceries. I believe it's Hunk, Pidge and my turn to host pack-dinner and Hunk has big plans."

"Need help with that?", offered Zethrid.

"I'll be fine, Zee. Thanks", smiled Lance and got up from the couch.

He grabbed his jacket with his wallet on his way out of the girls' apartment. What he had said was true. He felt like _home_ here, with them all. They were like family. Well, that was what pack was, after all, right? Family. Only... not for merpeople. But these people, they had taken him in, made him feel warm and welcomed. This was where Lance _wanted_ to be.

Humming to himself, he walked through the farmer's market. It was so nice. All those fresh ingredients that Hunk would work his magic on. Human food, also a huge reason as to why Lance wanted to stay on land. Seriously, it was _so_ amazing what they could do!

"Lance!", called someone out, causing him to turn around.

"Oh! Colleen! Hello!", greeted Lance, welcoming the human with a hug.

Actual human. At least not _everyone_ was supernatural. The Holts were supposedly normal humans. Colleen smiled warmly at him before she motioned at the stand in front of them.

"You're hosting dinner tonight, right?", asked Colleen.

"Ye—ep. And since I am apparently a disaster in the kitchen for the most part, we agreed that Hunk would cook while Pidge would clean up and I'd buy all the stuff Hunk needs", grinned Lance.

"I'm buying everything for my famous blueberry pie", smiled Colleen.

"Oh. That is delicious, I remember", hummed Lance and licked his lips.

Colleen offered him a kind look. "You look really happy, you know? I know you said your mother had a hard time letting you go, but... if she could see you right now, she would know she did right."

"You... think so?", asked Lance hopefully.

"I'm a mother. Believe me", chuckled Colleen. "We worry a lot, but when we notice that our children are happy and safe, then we can agree to our children's decisions. Perhaps you should consider returning home, to talk to your mother? Let her see how happy you are."

"...Maybe you're right", sighed Lance. "Thank you, Colleen."

"Don't worry about it. Now, I really have to go, otherwise the pie will not be ready on time", chuckled Colleen, hugging Lance again. "I'll see you tonight, Lance."

Lance nodded absentmindedly and continued shopping. He was so distracted thinking about how he was going to talk to his mother, when he could return to the ocean for a quick family visit – something that was overdue anyway. He was far too distracted to notice the menacing man with the eye-patch who kept following him and sniffing the air. Recognizing the scent clinging onto him. Not that of Shiro or Keith, who were still covering it up, but rather the scent of Krolia and Kolivan that came from all the time he had spent with the pack now...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter is the final one alreaddy and it's going to solve our Zarkon problem in what I hope is an unexpected way for you all! ;D (Also, obviously, Shklance will happen *wiggles eyebrows*)


	7. And They Lived Happily Ever After

_Chapter 6: And They Lived Happily Ever After_

"Mh, this smells like... nothing? At all? Why doesn't it smell like food...?"

Acxa frowned as she looked around. Hunk and Pidge were sprawled out on the couch, both startling as they saw the pack pouring in. Though their faced morphed into confused concern when they laid eyes on Shiro and Keith. Hastily, Hunk scrambled off the couch.

"Wait. Lance is not with you?", asked Hunk as he came to a halt in front of the mated pair.

"No...? Why would he?", asked Keith very confused.

"Because he never got home with the groceries", supplied Pidge. "And we figured, what with you guys courting, he most likely just got... distracted by you."

"We haven't seen him all day", stated Keith and shook his head with a deep frown.

"Wait, but... if he never came home and wasn't with you guys...", drawled Shay concerned.

"I ran into him at the farmer's market?", offered Colleen, leaning against Sam.

"Off to the farmer's market to pick up his scent and find him", ordered Kolivan with a growl. "There's no way he just got lost in thought and wandered off."

Growling the rest of the pack got up and followed him out and to the farmer's market. As much as the pack kept reassuring Keith and Shiro that they were safe here, they knew that it would be foolish to just shrug such a thing off. Maybe Lance was indeed safe and sound and had gotten distracted by something, but it was also potentially a real danger.

"We're splitting up. Everyone takes a wolf with them. Hunk with Pidge and Shay. Krolia with Allura and Sam. Acxa with Ezor and Coran. Zethrid with Narti and Matt. I go with Lotor and Rax. Colleen, if you could return to their apartment, in case Lance comes home?", ordered Kolivan.

"That sounds reasonable. Bring the boy home, yes?", pleaded Colleen.

"What about—Wait, where are Keith and Shiro?", asked Hunk surprised, looking around.

"Took off the moment we stepped foot on the farmer's market", snorted Acxa.

"Okay, teams. Split up. Let's not worry about them, I'm sure they can handle themselves", grunted Kolivan gruffly. "We have a merman to find so we can get to dinner any time today."

/break\

"Keith! Keith, _slow down_!", ordered Shiro, putting the full force of his alpha-voice in it.

And it usually did not work on other alphas, but he was strong, centuries of training and _someone_ had to stop Keith from going frantic. Keith whirled around, snarling at his mate and baring his fangs. Shiro glared him down, grabbing him tightly to hold him.

"Calm down. You need to calm down, Keith. You have to use your brain, not your feral instincts", ordered Shiro seriously, cupping Keith's face. "Being angry won't help Keith."

"I can smell Sendak", hissed Keith. "He _took our omega_!"

"I know", pressed Shiro out between gritted teeth. "I know that he took our omega. But to find him, we need to be focused and level-headed. Going in hot-headed will only get us in trouble. Might get _him_ in trouble. Keith, focus on his scent and calm down, love."

He leaned in to kiss his lover slowly, effectively calming Keith down. Taking a deep breath, Keith nodded. They had to focus now to find Lance. To save Lance. He had only gotten into trouble because of them. Because Sendak had somehow found them. Keith would be damned if he let any harm come to their little merman. They were going to save Lance.

/break\

Lance blinked sluggishly. His head was aching horribly. Well, everything was aching horribly.

"You are awake, human", snarled a dark voice.

Lance frowned and looked up at the creepy guy. "...Hey. So. What are you doing with me?"

"You will be my bait, little human", growled the man.

Wolf. Definitely a werewolf. Also definitely not a good guy. Shaking his aching head, Lance looked around. He was in some warehouse or something. He was just too woozy to do anything, so for now he would have to just wait. To get better and _maybe_ for someone to find him.

/break\

Keith and Shiro were the first ones at the warehouse and it took all of Shiro's strength to keep Keith from just breaking through the glass to free Lance. After all, Lance was hanging from a hook with chains, he looked beaten and battered and _that was not okay_. But they needed to be clever about this. First, Shiro called Kolivan to alert the rest of the pack, then they needed a plan.

"Okay. You go in, barging through the window, snarling and surprising him", whispered Shiro.

"...That's what you've been stopping me from doing for ten minutes now", growled Keith.

"I know. But now I have a plan, love", chuckled Shiro. "You distract Sendak, while I sneak in to free Lance and then you and I overpower Sendak, okay?"

"Plan. Okay", nodded Keith with a frown. "As long as I get to break Sendak's jaw."

"You do", promised Shiro, kissing Keith's temple. "Now go."

The next moment, Keith broke through the window, snarling and growling, half-shifted. It did throw Sendak, who seemed to not have expected them so soon. Keith tackled Sendak, pinning him and rolling them around. Shiro used the distraction to get to Lance using his super-speed. Lance blinked very dazed as he found himself cradled in Shiro's protective arms.

"Lance? Lance, are you alright, sweetheart?", asked Shiro gently.

"Mh. A hundred times better now that you're here", smiled Lance happily.

"Okay, good. I need you to hide here for a moment longer, stay safe, yeah?", whispered Shiro. "I have to go and help Keith. Sendak is a strong fighter."

Lance blinked as he was being propped up against the wall and Shiro ran to help Keith. And even the two of them together barely stood a chance against Sendak. He was impressive and strong and he had spent so many years studying Shiro's fighting style in the arena and he had been the one to teach Keith everything the young werewolf knew about fighting.

"That's enough!", declared Lance loudly.

It startled all three of the fighters and distracted them for a moment. Lance had gotten up, a glare on his face as he stalked up to them. Keith growled displeased and even Shiro looked very annoyed that the omega hadn't listened to him. Lance took a very deep breath. And then he started singing.

Both Shiro and Keith got a little woozy as the beautiful melody surrounded them like that. The fight stopped. All three just stared at Lance as though they were hypnotized and they didn't even notice the arrival of the rest of the pack. Everyone felt drawn toward Lance until they stood in a circle.

Clearing his throat, Lance looked at Sendak once he stopped singing. "You. Sit. Don't move."

Everyone was snapped out of the trance and watched in shocked silence how Sendak just dropped on his knees. Overwhelmed with surprise did the pack stare at Lance for answers.

"What?", asked Lance confused.

"You just... he just listened to you like you have an alpha-voice", grunted Zethrid.

"I'm sorry, a what now?", asked Lance with a blank face.

"Alpha-voice", repeated Shiro while Keith was cradling Lance close to check him for injuries. "It's an alpha's very powerful voice that can make omegas and betas obey them."

"An omega's siren-call", nodded Lance, blinking.

"Your turn to explain, Lance", prompted Matt, already getting his notepad out.

"Remember when I explained that omegas mark the territory of the alpha they choose to make sure others know they're protected? Wha—at do you think would be the point of that if omegas were like... helpless?", asked Lance and tilted his heads. "All the human tales about merpeople and sirens? That's not alphas or betas. That's omegas. Because _we_ are the powerful ones. We can command _anyone_. Merpeople, humans, supernaturals."

"Tell me again why you've been careful about supernatural predators then?", asked Pidge.

"Well, a strong magic voice is useless when a quick predator tears your throat out first."

"...Fair point", nodded Pidge. "Okay. So, you have a magic voice. What can it do."

Lance tilted his head. "Why? What do you need it to do? I mean, who is this?"

"Sendak. Zarkon's second-in-command. The one who murdered my husband", snarled Krolia. "And all of those who had escaped with Kolivan and me."

"He has been hunting you since your escape", added Shiro. "And now... now he is hunting us."

"Enough talking. Let me kill him", growled Zethrid impatiently.

"What's the point?", asked Matt with a frown. "I mean, you kill him, Zarkon never hears of him again and sends even more backup who will then be able to track Sendak down and thus find us."

"Stop being smart, human", warned Zethrid irritated.

"But Matt is right", argued Allura concerned, looking at Lotor and taking his hand.

Lotor took a shaky breath and closed his eyes. "Krolia, Kolivan, Shiro and Keith are not the only ones on the run from Zarkon. My father has been determined to find me for a long time."

"If word gets out, we have to... leave Altea", whispered Allura with a heartbroken look.

"My love, not you", assured Lotor, gently kissing her cheek. "This has been your home for millennia. I will leave and..."

"And leave me? No", declared Allura fiercely.

"I think... we all need to uproot", sighed Krolia, resting a hand on Keith's shoulder. "I am not losing you again, son. And I will not lose any more pack to Zarkon's malice."

"So... all I hear is that you need this Zarkon guy to lay off you, right?", asked Lance.

"All we need is... Yes, Lance, that is _all_ we need", huffed Acxa with a pointed look.

"Okay", shrugged Lance and knelt down in front of Sendak, his voice dropping into a low, nearly seductive tone. "You found them. You found Keith and Shiro. They reunited with Keith's mother, hiding out with her. You were fighting them, bravely. You killed Keith first and it sent Shiro into a crazy frenzy. He didn't even care about the sunlight as he fought you. You couldn't bring back the champion, because he burned to a crisp. Krolia, crazy with grief for losing her son twice, was reckless and in the uncoordinated fight, blinded by emotions, you managed to kill her."

Getting up from his spot, Lance walked over to Krolia and tentatively reached out for the necklace she was always wearing – her wedding ring. "...I know you don't want to part with this because it's all you have left of your husband, but if he comes back without any proof..."

Confused, Krolia allowed Lance to take the necklace off her and hand it to Sendak. "You bring your Alpha this as proof, for you couldn't very well drag their bodies all the way back without raising suspicion. You took care of the traitors. You are a great hero, a strong, impressive alpha." For a second, Lance paused and turned toward the others. "Zee, Kolivan, hold back Keith."

Not knowing what Lance was going to do, they did as he requested. Not much made sense at the moment, but for now they were trusting their pack-mate. The next moment, Lance leaned in and pressed a kiss to Sendak's lips, making Pidge turn green and Hunk make gagging noises. Keith, as Lance had predicted, started growling and lashing out, trying to reach them to finish Sendak off himself. Allura's eyes were wide as she watched a blue mist link Lance's lips to Sendak's.

"Go now", ordered Lance as he got up. "And _never_ return to this island. _Never_ let anyone come close to our island again. This island is useless to your pack. Primitive."

Sendak looked dazed as he got up and just walked out of the warehouse. As soon as he was out of sight, Zethrid and Kolivan couldn't hold Keith back any longer. The moment he broke free from their hold, he essentially tackled his omega and kissed him rather fiercely, definitely with the intend of erasing _Sendak_ 's kiss. Shiro stepped up to them, wrapping his arms around Lance from behind.

"Okay. Run this by me again, what just happened", requested Rax, clearly annoyed.

"I used my siren-voice on him", replied Lance and tilted his head. "I can... control minds. Manipulate them. For all Sendak knows, what I just told him? Actually happened. No lie-detector, no sorceress and her magic could sniff out a lie because to him what I just said was the truth. To him, when he returns to Zarkon, that will be the truth he tells him. Krolia, Keith and Shiro are dead, this place is uninteresting and not worthy of their attention."

"And... that's it?", asked Kolivan doubtfully.

"Yeah", shrugged Lance with a smile. "It's... my magic. Also a part of why we're supposed to be careful, because our powers in the wrong hands can be devastating."

"You are amazing", whispered Shiro gently, kissing Lance's neck.

Lance smiled faintly, leaning into both of his boyfriends, proud that he had been able to help.

/break\

"Tonight was beautiful", whispered Lance with a faint smile.

They had gone swimming at the lagoon, walked along the beach after a good dinner. His alphas had paid – by now, they had jobs, stable income, a proper home. Things were steady and well. Not just work and pack-wise, but also in their relationship. They had been going out for a bit over three months now and as far as Lance was concerned, he had found his alphas. He had gone to talk to his family and they had seen it in his face, when he spoke of his pack and when he spoke of Shiro and Keith. The _love_ he felt for them. That separating him from them would hurt him.

"Yes. It was... very lovely. Please, let us accompany you home", offered Shiro.

"I... thought... I could come home with you?", suggested Lance with bright-red cheeks.

"...Huh?", asked Keith rather doe-eyed.

"Sex", stated Lance, cheeks even darker red. "We. I mean. Three months? I... I'm just an omega too and going out with two super hot alphas has me horny and craving. Just... putting that out there. If... you two would want to too, you know?"

"I do love your direct ways", whispered Shiro with a gentle smile, kissing Lance.

"So, that a yes or a no on the sex?", asked Lance with a cheeky grin.

Shiro searched Keith's eyes, seeing his blown pupils. "I think... that is a yes. Come."

They essentially ran off toward the mated pair's apartment. Barely inside, Keith started tugging clothes off of both his boyfriends. He was definitely eager, because their omega had been tempting them for a while now. They barely made it into the bedroom, where Keith had Lance pinned beneath him within moments. The omega gasped surprised as Keith started kissing down his body greedily, leaving bite-marks all over. Keith growled pleased when he reached Lance's hard and leaking cock, wrapping his lips around it to devour it whole. With a breathless gasp did Lance claw his fingers into the sheets beneath him. Shiro stood for another moment to watch hungrily how good Keith and Lance looked together. Only after he shook himself out of his awe, he grasped the lube from the bedside table and then went to kneel behind Keith. Another growl escaped Keith as Shiro started kissing down Keith's spine, lubing his own fingers up to ease them into Keith. This was too much to bear for too long and Shiro knew if he would wait now for his turn with Lance (and there was no fighting Keith for first round, that much was clear), he would shoot his load too early.

"So tight", growled Keith as he pumped three fingers into Lance's hole.

Wet with the omega's slick as Lance was writhing beneath him. Keith returned his attention to Lance's cock, sucking him off eagerly while fingering him. The sound Lance made when he came was both hot and absolutely endearing. Greedily, Keith licked everything off before sitting up and positioning himself. He eased his way in carefully, growling at the perfect feeling of Lance around him. Taking a sharp breath, Keith turned to look over his shoulder as Shiro himself made his move. Their love-making was slow, careful as they watched out for each other, but within a short time, they figured out a pretty good rhythm for Keith to thrust with Shiro. Shiro was the first to come, having such a good view on the debauched omega beneath Keith and feeling Keith around him like that. As always, he carefully caught himself so his knot could not hurt his mate. Keith all the while continued thrusting and then bit down on Lance's neck as he came, his knot catching and for the first time in his life, Keith got to experience the feeling of knotting an omega. It... was damn good.

"Gorgeous", growled Keith pleased, lapping at Lance's neck.

"Mh... not shabby yourself, mullet-head", grinned Lance and relaxed.

Shiro rolled off and went to fetch something to clean them up a little while they waited for Keith's knot to deflate. As soon as that happened, Keith was nearly rudely pushed out of the way. Blinking, Keith stared at Shiro. It was rare for him to be impatient. Smirking to himself about it, Keith got comfortable next to Lance and pulled the omega close so he could shower him with kisses. Shiro all the while flipped Lance over, propping him up on all four. Lance wrapped his arms around Keith's waist, burying his face in Keith's abs while Shiro slowly breached him. He was still loose and wet from the fucking with Keith. Groaning, Lance closed his eyes and enjoyed his second fucking. Shiro fucked him deep and hard, biting down on the other side of Lance's neck as he came, filling up the omega and knotting him. Both of them collapsed on top of Keith.

"That was... long overdue", admitted Shiro, panting hard.

"Ye—eah it was. Oh. Hot", grinned Lance as he saw Shiro's eyes and fangs.

Embarrassed, Shiro schooled his features. "I'm sorry. Biting you, well, I _am_ a vampire."

"I don't mind the biting? Between you and me, the whole aphrodisiac powers of a vampire-bite are kinda canceled out. Seductive siren and all", stated Lance with a wink.

"You're so silly", purred Keith, kissing along Lance's neck. "I love that."

"Ye—eah? Only that?", asked Lance carefully.

"I love all of you. Otherwise I wouldn't have claimed you as my mate", grunted Keith pointedly.

"Just wanted to hear you say it", shrugged Lance. "But that does remind me..."

He grabbed Shiro and Keith by the wrists to pull them closer so he could bite them too. Keith cursed slightly as unnaturally sharp fangs bore into his skin. When Lance looked up, his eyes were those of a shark and so were his teeth. Keith stared stunned for a moment. So far, they had only seen the sweet and seductive side of their siren, so it was easy to forget how deadly they were.

"Marked. Mine", smirked Lance pleased and closed his eyes contently.

/break\

His indeed. Not just Keith and Shiro, his mates. He had found his place in the pack. Smiling to himself, Lance easily slipped into Shiro's lap as they were over at Allura's for movie-night. Allura and Lotor were curled together on the love-seat, Matt, Pidge, Hunk and Shay on one couch, Acxa, Ezor, Zethrid and Narti on the other couch and, very crammed together, Shiro, Keith and Lance on the second love-seat. They were watching _Star Wars_ , because of course had Lance never heard of that before – there were no movies under the sea and it had taken Hunk disturbingly long to realize that Lance hadn't seen any movies before moving to them.

"Okay. This one is going to be really great!", declared Hunk with a large grin.

Lance smiled to himself, snuggling up to Keith. He was sure this was great, with or without movie.

_~*~ The End ~*~_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaand that's that. The end. Thank you for reading and even more so for reviewing, I hope you enjoyed it! *smiles*

**Author's Note:**

> As always, you can find my updating schedule on my profile to check when this story, or other stories, are being updated! Also, if you like sneak peeks and plotting of future fics and random ship headcanons, come and visit me on tumblr at [takaraphoenix](https://takaraphoenix.tumblr.com/)!


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